Autonomous Steam-Leak Detecting Robot
Team Members Heading link
- Justin Bolda
- Zachary Gurley
- Binh Nguyen
- Tyler Thompson
- Max Tucker
Advisor: Jonathan Komperda
Sponsor: Jonathan Komperda
Project Description Heading link
Service tunnels, such as the steam tunnels beneath University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) campus, present significant safety risks for workers that must conduct inspections. Hazards such as steam, gas, and other dangerous leaks can be present. Additionally, communication via cellular or radio signals are often not possible in underground service tunnels. With these possible safety issues, precautions must be taken that make inspections tedious and time consuming. Safety, efficiency, and cost are essential concerns in engineering design. The proposed automated tunnel inspection robot would address these concerns by using various sensors to determine if service is needed and map any issues that are found. Automating tunnel patrols and identifying issues will be safer and quicker than manned inspections. These implications result in lower preventative maintenance costs. The automated tunnel inspection robot provides a safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective solution to maintaining underground service tunnels.
See supporting documentation in the team’s Box drive.