Mechanical avatar assembly and system for use in a confined space in a structure and method of using the same

A mechanical avatar system for use in a confined space in a structure, the mechanical avatar system comprising:

• a mechanical avatar assembly attached, via an attachment assembly, to an access opening to the confined space in the structure, the mechanical avatar assembly comprising:
• a rail assembly having a rail and a gear rack, extending along a length of an elongated base formed by two or more rail segments, and having a carriage portion, driven by a pneumatic drive assembly along the rail;
• an articulating avatar arm coupled to, and movable via, the carriage portion, the articulating avatar arm comprising a plurality of mechanical links, a plurality of joints coupling the plurality of mechanical links together, and one or more actuator assemblies coupled at each joint;
• an image capturing device coupled to the articulating avatar arm;
• and
• an end effector tool assembly coupled to the articulating avatar arm;
• and
• an operator workstation positioned outside the confined space, at a predetermined distance from the mechanical avatar assembly attached to the access opening in the structure, the operator workstation comprising:
• a portable structure having a control system with a plurality of control devices, including pneumatic drive assembly control devices, and including an input control arm mechanically coupled to the articulating avatar arm, with a plurality of connector elements, to remotely and directly control the articulating avatar arm, wherein the articulating avatar arm mimics one or more motions of the input control arm operated by an operator, and wherein the plurality of control devices further comprise a gross angular motion control device coupled to the portable structure, the gross angular motion control device comprising a gross angular motion wheel with a handle, and a gross angular motion pulley and cable assembly coupled to the gross angular motion wheel, and coupled to a base portion of the articulating avatar arm, to enable 300 (three hundred) degrees of motion of the articulating avatar arm with a range of 0 (zero) degrees to 90 (ninety) degrees of operator movement by the operator;
• and
• a monitor coupled to the portable structure, to display one or more output images from the image capturing device.

A method of using and remotely operating a mechanical avatar assembly in a confined space in a structure, the method comprising the steps of:

• installing the mechanical avatar assembly in an interior of the confined space in the structure, the mechanical avatar assembly comprising:
• a rail assembly having a rail and a gear rack, extending along a length of an elongated base formed by two or more rail segments, and having a carriage portion, driven by a pneumatic drive assembly along the rail;
• an articulating avatar arm coupled to, and movable via, the carriage portion, the articulating avatar arm comprising a plurality of mechanical links, a plurality of joints coupling the plurality of mechanical links together, and one or more actuator assemblies coupled at each joint;
• an image capturing device coupled to the articulating avatar arm;
• and
• an end effector tool assembly coupled to the articulating avatar arm;
• attaching, with an attachment assembly, at least one portion of the mechanical avatar assembly, to an edge of an access opening to the confined space;
• positioning an operator workstation outside the confined space, at a predetermined distance from the mechanical avatar assembly attached to the access opening, the operator workstation comprising a portable structure having a control system with a plurality of control devices, including an input control arm, and pneumatic drive assembly control devices, and the operator workstation further comprising a monitor, to display one or more output images from the image capturing device;
• mechanically coupling the mechanical avatar assembly to the operator workstation, including mechanically coupling the input control arm to the articulating avatar arm, with a plurality of connector elements;
• operating the pneumatic drive assembly control devices by an operator, to remotely control the pneumatic drive assembly, to drive the carriage portion along the rail, to move the articulating avatar arm to a desired position, the pneumatic drive assembly control devices comprising a pedal valve and a control valve, to remotely control an air motor of the pneumatic drive assembly, and controlling a speed of the air motor with the pedal valve, and controlling a direction of the air motor with the control valve, and further powering the air motor with air from an air supply located outside of the confined space;
• operating the input control arm by the operator, to remotely and directly control the articulating avatar arm, by mechanically actuating one or more input control arm actuator assemblies coupled to, and corresponding to, the one or more actuator assemblies of the articulating avatar arm, to cause the articulating avatar arm to mimic one or more motions of the input control arm, and to orient the articulating avatar arm to a desired orientation;
• and
• performing one or more confined space operations in the confined space in the structure, by using and remotely operating one of, the image capturing device, or the image capturing device and the end effector tool assembly, coupled to the mechanical avatar assembly.