Much of the infrastructure for water, sewage and gas runs in pipes under the ground that require regular inspection to find the source of leaks or needed repairs.
This often requires expensive excavation work that is estimated to cost £5.5bn a year in the UK alone, as well as causing disruption to traffic and nuisance to people living nearby.
The team has developed a robot called Joey that can navigate by itself through mazes of pipes as narrow as 7.5cm across without needing a camera. Weighing just 70g, it’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
Image credit: TL Nguyen, A Blight, A Pickering, A Barber, GH Jackson-Mills, JH Boyle, R Richardson, M Dogar, N Cohen
“Underground water and sewer networks are some of the least hospitable environments, not only for humans, but also for robots...