Tiny robots could help fix leaky water pipes

Micro-robots that can inspect water pipes, diagnose cracks and fix them autonomously—reducing leaks and avoiding expensive excavation work—have been developed by a team of engineers led by the University of Sheffield.

The tiny robots, called Pipebots, could revolutionize how water infrastructure is managed and help to save some of the 3 billion liters of water that is lost through leaky pipes every day in England and Wales.

With a total length of around 350,000 km, the U.K.’s water network dates back to the Victorian era. As the underground infrastructure is aging, cracks and faults are causing water to be continuously leaked—at a rate that is enough to fill 1,200 Olympic swimming pools.

The smallest leaks can cause significant problems. Currently, the only way for human workers to pinpoint the flaw is by digging and locating a leak in the maze of pipes. This can take days of searching, resulting in high costs and road closures that affect businesses and residents nearby. Utility street works cost the U.K. economy at least £4 billion per year and can cause disruption to businesses and residents.

To tackle this, researchers from the University of Sheffield’s School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, in collaboration with the universities of Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds, have developed a range of miniature robots with new sensors that can travel through pipes and check for defects autonomously.

The smallest robot measures 40 mm wide—similar to the size of a toy car. The bots are equipped with tiny, high-spec acoustic sensors and cameras, which enable them to navigate and detect faults freely.

Without the need to dig up roads or pavements, a Pipebot swarm can be placed in a deployment hub and lowered into a water pipe through a hydrant by an engineer. The tiny patrollers will then explore the area, scan for faults, and relay data back to the engineer above ground.

The Pipebots are intelligent and will avoid any restricted areas, such as customer connections, and work collaboratively to clear areas quickly and efficiently. They are equipped with all-terrain legs which enable them to navigate through any difficult paths they might encounter while underground. They can also talk to each other within a short range, so they can work together to carry out tasks and problem-solve.

Professor Kirill Horoshenkov, Program Director and Professor of Acoustics at the University of Sheffield, said, “Leaky water pipes are one of the biggest issues facing the water industry, not just here in the U.K., but also globally as companies and governments grapple with aging infrastructure. While pipe inspection technologies have improved, it is still incredibly difficult to monitor the condition of water pipes and find leaks in these vast networks, especially when the leaks are small.

“The Pipebots we have developed could revolutionize how we maintain our water infrastructure and could significantly reduce the estimated three billion liters of water lost daily in England and Wales. The bots would lessen the strain on resources and potentially save the U.K. economy part of the £4 billion lost annually due to utility street works and related disruptions.”

Aside from water pipes, the bots are capable of operating in a range of other environments, including sewers, gas pipes and dangerous sites that are inaccessible to humans.

The Sheffield researchers are working on three projects with partners from the water industry and local authorities across the U.K. to adapt the bots to meet specific industry needs. The work includes:

• Pipebot Patrol—a project to develop, build and test an autonomous sewer robot that lives in the sewer, constantly inspecting and raising alerts to the precise location of blockages, as they are beginning to form.
• Pipebots for Raising Mains—a project to develop technology for condition assessment inspections in live rising wastewater mains, which will enable rehabilitation works to be planned and prioritized, reducing the risk of failure leading to pollution.
• No Dig Leak Repair—a project to develop technology to repair leaks from within live water mains, without disruptive excavations and with minimal interruptions to water supplies.

The Sheffield team is also working on a project, Pipeon, to develop advanced robotic and AI technologies for autonomous sewer inspection and maintenance.

Professor Horoshenkov added, “The Pipebots project is a great example of the importance of collaboration between universities and industry. Our research has demonstrated how effective the technology can be and partners from industry are helping us to make it relevant to the end-user needs, test, advance and ultimately deploy it to help tackle a key challenge the water industry faces.”