Robotic Cameras Enable Simultaneous Inspections

The Solo small-diameter pipe inspection system from RedZone Robotics Inc. lets contractors and municipal crews inspect multiple lines simultaneously without a dedicated operator and truck.
Robotic Cameras Enable Simultaneous Inspections

The Solo small-diameter pipe inspection system from RedZone Robotics Inc. lets contractors and municipal crews inspect multiple lines simultaneously without a dedicated operator and truck.

“This is a completely autonomous inspection system,” says Ken Wolf, vice president of sales and marketing. “All the power, intelligence and data storage is on board. All you do is pop the manhole, deploy the cameras – typically one upstream and one downstream – close the manhole, leave and come back in about 30 minutes.

“In the meantime, you could deploy two more cameras somewhere farther down the line. Multiple cameras running simultaneously dramatically increase throughput.”

One camera can inspect up to 450 feet per deployment. That benefits communities that must inspect a specific amount of pipe each year but are constrained by time, money, staff resources and technology.

“Municipalities that are behind on inspections can lease a number of Solo units and blitz their sewer system to achieve their inspection goals,” Wolf says.

The unit weighs 20 pounds and is easy to carry to manholes that are not accessible with a traditional camera truck. The interface laptop includes a global positioning system that tags manhole locations. The robots offer spherical video and 360-degree pan-and-tilt viewing and are programmed to maneuver through blockages.

“Most cities will admit that 15 to 20 percent of their manholes are inaccessible because they can’t get a truck out to them,” Wolf says. “With this equipment, they can do an inspection anywhere a crew can walk. Operators get more information than they’ve ever had before. Meanwhile, contractors gain unique opportunities for jobs they couldn’t do before this technology was available.”

After operators retrieve a robot, they can review an inspection summary on the interface laptop. After the robots finish a number of inspections, the operator sends a hard drive to RedZone, where PACP-certified coders review the data and tag defects. Clients can request a hard copy of the inspection data or retrieve it as a Web site.

The technology enhances safety, as well, because manholes are closed during inspections and there is no confined-space entry, Wolf says. The robots operate on rechargeable batteries. For information: 412/476-8980 or www.redzone.com.



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