Hibot starts robotic inspection of boiler water pipes
The new robotic system makes inspection of boiler pipes faster, safer and more precise
(Tokyo, September 21) Hibot Corp., an innovative robotics start-up and pioneer of the RaaS (Robot as a Service) model for the inspection and maintenance of industrial infrastructure, announced today that it has performed the first commercial inspection of boiler water pipes with a new robotic system. The inspection was performed at a solid waste treatment facility located in Yokote city, Akita Prefecture (Japan).
The plant located in Yokote city is equipped with boilers, whose water pipes need to be inspected regularly, as they are exposed to high temperatures and corrosive gases. Boiler water pipes are normally inspected with ultrasonic sensors, but this requires complex preparatory works, which may even include the cutting of some pipes.
With the new robotic system, the preparatory works are greatly reduced, and there is no need to cut pipes or other parts. The compact robot can be inserted through the service hole of the boiler’s tank, from where it reaches the water pipes to be inspected.
At the Yokote plant, all the water pipes of the boiler under inspection were scanned in one day, and detailed thickness maps for each pipe were generated,in a way that was not possible until now.
This boiler pipe inspection system was developed in cooperation with Ebara Environmental Plant (EEP), which designs, constructs, operates and maintains solid waste treatment facilities. Based on the success of this commercial inspection, hibot and EEP plan to gradually introduce this robotic system to inspect domestic facilities operated by EEP in the current fiscal year.
"With this new robotic system, inspection and maintenance of boilers becomes much faster and safer,” said Michele Guarnieri, co-founder and CEO of hibot. “By combining it with our HiBox data platform, it will be also possible to predict the life of the pipes with greater accuracy and act before problems happen. This brings us one step closer to realizing our goal of a safer and more sustainable world by providing our robot solutions on a global scale."