Intelligent in-pipe robotic platform for water infrastructure sustainability
In the U.S., a water pipe breaks every two minutes, resulting in billions of gallons of water loss and costly repairs each year. Aging infrastructure and the complexity of underground pipe networks make inspections challenging and infrequent. This project aims to bridge this gap by developing a soft, vine-like robot capable of navigating pipes and transmitting data back to the user through built-in sensors. The researchers will build and test prototypes to improve the hardware and software components, including a user-friendly interface and cloud data management. By enabling access to previously unreachable parts of the system, the robot promises to lower inspection costs and support more proactive, sustainable water infrastructure management.