Development of robotic arm and sensor for pipeline inspection AUV Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. AUV Department November 9th, 2022 AGENDA ■■ Project background
■  Summary of the Project
- Development of water pressure tolerant motor and robotic arm - Development of the ITU - Sensor and detection R&D ■■ Relationship to DeepStar program ■■  Future Prospects of the Project 55
Objective of the Project The development of autonomous maintenance technologies applying the technologies of industrial robot arm. Key technologies applied to the development ITU system Robotic arm AUV Image of subsea pipeline inspection with AUV fusion Sensor W

Technology Application
Subsea infrastructure inspection . Inspection for decommissioning and continuous environmental research after decommissioning . etc. The development parties and their respective development role
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• KHI had internally developed prototype robotic arm and ITU system. • KHI has conducted performance confirmation trials with AUV installed our prototype robotic arm and ITU system with a grant received. • As a result, KHI has confirmed that prototype robotic arm could capture the pipe top. • KHI has also found some improvements, such as actuator's responsivity, necessity of gearless, ITU followability and localization these product. • KHI has been able to develop these improvements. Prototype robotic arm Picture of a trial
- Development of water pressure tolerant motor and robotic arm - From the result of the sea trials, for improving performance of robotic arm, KHI has developed water pressure tolerant motor which has high torque and high response compared to ready-made motor which we used. Ready-made motor which we used High response & high water pressure tolerant New developed motor Load test High pressure test (6
KHI has developed new robotic arm for using new developed  motor. • The new robotic arm have only two drive shafts, pitch axis and yaw axis, based on the roll stability obtained during sea trials. • Increased output of motor torque and removed external gear. • Changed bearing type from sliding bearings to ball bearings for improving accuracy. 7
- Development of the ITU - KHI has developed inspection tool unit “ITU”. ITU is the platform of inspection sensors attached to the end of a robotic arm. The ITU has mechanism to absorb robotic arm end motion. Detecting device of pushing force Feedback from test data at Kobe University of vertical motion Absorption device of horizontal motion First type ITU Revised type ITU es
- Development of the ITU - 9
Sample WBS signals 1° echo is highly consistent 2° echoes contain most information Processed data Data over one complete revolution >360° Mean-squared error (MSE) wrt ‘normal’ response Test Piece for WBS* Inspection :   Large diameter pipe •  Models structural element for offshore platform/jacket •  eg 1:8 – 1:4 scale subsea pile/leg •  620 mm outer diameter • 12.7 mm (½”) wall thickness WBS Data: colour map highlights defects •  Video screen capture •   Maps MSE values onto 3d model •  Three successive 360° scans • Approx. ½° between pings •   10 cm vertical offset between scan lines •  Traffic light colour mapping .
 GREEN : normal wideband cylinder response [OK] o RED: largest deviations from normal •  YELLOW: smaller deviations from normal
The robotic arm an ITU which have developed in this project have used in DeepStar program. KHI has confirmed that AUV equipped this developed system is capable of stable tracing along pipeline. NF - DeepStar Joint R&D Program – Expression of Interest (EOI) - [Demonstration of Capability of ITU mounted on AUV]
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Based on the results obtained in this project, KHI will continue to develop pipeline inspection AUV with robotic arms system for more efficient pipeline inspection. Kawasaki, working as one for the good of the planet “Global kawasaki”