Patent ID: 7210364
Filing Date: 2007-05-01
Classification: F16L

Abstract:
1. An autonomous robot for traversing a conduit comprising: a body; a drive system capable of extracting energy from a flow of fluid through the conduit and using the energy to advance the body along the inside of the conduit; and at least one sensor mounted on said body; wherein the drive system includes at least one set of pitched wheels and at least one set of non-pitched wheels; 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; and wherein at least one of said wheels can be retracted by the robot in the event of a locomotion failure.