With the “In-Pipe Inspection Robot” developed by the TUBITAK Rail Transport Technologies Institute (RUTE) and called the “Robot Eye”, natural gas leaks on the lines will be detected instantly.
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank shared a video on the subject on his Twitter account.
Pointing out that Turkey is the second country after the USA to develop its own inspection robot, Varank said, “In the project initiated by TUBITAK for Istanbul Gas and Natural Gas Distribution Inc. (İGDAŞ) in 2017, ‘Robot Göz’ detects faults and leaks in natural gas lines. In this way, millions of liras will be saved. Istanbul will not fall behind in terms of service and technology.” used the phrase.
According to the written statement made by the Ministry, Robot Eye was designed by Turkish engineers for İGDAŞ.
Developed by TÜBİTAK RUTE as a result of 4 years of work, Robot Eye will detect gas leaks in natural gas pipes with its 900 sensors.
TÜBİTAK RUTE Director Mehmet Ali Çimen, whose views were included in the statement, stated that the project idea was brought to them by İGDAŞ in 2017.
Noting that Robot Göz will inspect the 12 and 16 inch 545 kilometer line of İGDAŞ, Çimen pointed out that this technology is only available in the USA.
Çimen said, “Normally, you rent them and pay per kilometer. Right now, we have eliminated external dependency by having this technology. Beyond that, we are able to serve both our region and the world by renting this robot with this robot.” used the phrase.
Stating that they are proud of the fact that such developments are taking place in a civil sector in Turkey, Çimen said, “Our robot can also map. made its assessment.
“Can move in complex lines”
TÜBİTAK Robotic Intelligent Systems Group Chief Expert Researcher and Project Coordinator Dr. Hüseyin Ayhan Yavaşoğlu also stated that Robot Eye has successfully completed the 2 and a half kilometer wireless communication test inside the pipe.
Recording the “magnetic flux leakage sensor” of Robot Eye’s most important feature, Yavaşoğlu shared information on the subject as follows:
“This is the heart of the Robot Eye. There are 900 sensors on it. With these sensors, we can detect the defects both inside the pipe and on its outer surface. The Robot Eye consists of 9 modules. It has a snake-like structure. It can make orientation and rotational movements and this structure can be used in complex city pipelines. Thanks to the camera modules, we have lasers. We project lasers in a circle. By examining the change of this laser, we can detect any deformation in the pipes. We detect them. The Robot Eye, which is completely wireless, communicates through the pipe thanks to the antennas in the camera modules. This is a difficult robot project because inside it There are 247 electronic cards and 3 microcomputers. One of the most difficult aspects of this project is that the environment in which it will work is very difficult. The robot has to operate when there is flow. You need to develop a robotic system that can move against the flow and operate under pressure up to 30 bar.”
Emphasizing that the mechanics, design, hardware and software of Robot Eye were completely developed by TÜBİTAK RUTE, Yavaşoğlu said, “We are proud that it has been developed by local engineers. More than 20 Turkish engineers are working on this project. We continue to work to use our robot on the live line as soon as possible. ” used the phrase.
TÜBİTAK Chief Specialist Researcher, Robotic Intelligent Systems Group Leader Dr. Yusuf Engin Tetik also noted that the data obtained from Robot Eye was handled after the operation, “Data from 900 different sensors are kept in a recording mechanism within the robot. It is processed after the operation. Errors are found later.” shared his knowledge.
Source AA