About
Our team have been developing self-propelled colonoscopes. Based on the technology developed at that time, we are currently working on the development of a robot system called WATER (Waseda Tokyogas Endscope Robot) that can move inside gas pipes and acquire internal images in order to inspect the inside of gas pipes buried underground. As Japan's infrastructure built during the period of rapid economic growth becomes increasingly obsolete, reducing the risk of accidents caused by such aging infrastructure has become an issue. At the same time, as the population ages and the birthrate declines, the need to secure skilled engineers and increase maintenance and management costs has become an issue. Since most lifelines are buried under roads, it is necessary to excavate or occupy roads and carry out surveys using cameras and sensors in order to confirm the state of deterioration. In urban areas, in particular, it is sometimes difficult to carry out these operations. As for gas pipes and other underground installations, new technologies are required that enable the inspection and repair of trouble spots in pipes from above the ground without excavation. In order to quickly and easily identify trouble spots, we have been developing a robot system since 2015 that can move inside a gas pipe and inspect the inside with a camera.
