An inspection robot has been developed jointly with the Electric Power Development Co. for the purpose of inspecting the corrosion and coating deterioration of penstocks (3500 to 5000mm) for electric power generation, particularly their sloping sections. This robot is a simplified device which, equipped with a centering apparatus consisting of cylinders, travels in a spiral fashion by pressing its wheels along the surface of a pipe, and is capable of propelling itself to climb the sloping sections of penstocks after passing through their bends and reducers. After testing with penstocks and twice-conducted field tests, a working model has been completed, and it was even possible to get the model to perform the additional task of repairing. We therefore present here a complete report.
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