Autonomous robotic crawler for in-pipe inspection

An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:

• a drive module having a plurality of pitched wheels, said pitched wheels being oriented such that each of their axes defines a pitch angle greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conduit, said pitched wheels lying in at least one helical row;
• a driver module connected to said drive module, said driver module having a plurality of wheels aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conduit;
• and
• a power module;
• wherein said drive and driver modules cooperate to provide locomotive motion of the robot, and wherein said power module provides power for said locomotive motion,
• further comprising a suspension system supporting at least one of said wheels, wherein at least one suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is retracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit, and wherein said suspension system comprises cam-driven cartridges.

An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:

• a drive module having a plurality of pitched wheels, said pitched wheels being oriented such that each of their axes defines a pitch angle greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conduit;
• a driver module connected to said drive module, said driver module having a plurality of wheels aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conduit;
• and
• a power module, said power module comprising a turbine system;
• wherein said drive and driver modules provide locomotive motion of the robot, and wherein said power module provides the power for said locomotive motion;
• wherein said turbine system is capable of producing power regardless of the direction in which fluid is flowing through the conduit;
• and
• wherein at least one of said wheels is supported on a suspension system and said suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is retracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit.

An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising:

• a drive module having a plurality of pitched wheels, said pitched wheels being oriented such that each of their axes defines a pitch angle greater than zero degrees and less than ninety degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conduit;
• a driver module rotatably connected to said drive module, said driver module having a plurality of wheels aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conduit;
• a power module for providing power to cause rotation of said drive module relative to said driver module;
• and
• a suspension system supporting at least one of said wheels, said suspension system comprising at least one cam-driven cartridge, wherein said suspension system is actuatable between a first position in which all of said pitched wheels contact said conduit and a second position in which at least one of said pitched wheels is refracted such that the section on which said retracted wheel is mounted can rotate freely within the conduit.