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.
From 2022, we are developing the robot with propellers to inspect attics using our inspection robot and balloon knowledge.
