A climbing robot carries out safety inspection on the pier. (PHOTO: Jiangxi Consulting Investment Group) |
In the past, long-distance telescopes were used to detect cracks on bridge piers and high towers and then climbers would have to clamber up to do the repairing. It took a long time,strong lights were needed, and the process was hazardous. But now, with the development of a climbing robot, it takes only 20 minutes to detect a crack on bridge piers and three hours to generate a test report, greatly improving efficiency and safety.
The climbing robot can undertake all-weather intelligent recording and inspection of bridge piers. It uses eight high-definition cameras to photograph the pier column and transmits the image data to the control system in real-time.
It is also equipped with a posture sensor to ensure stability when it climbs something. If necessary, it can even crawl upwards with adjustments. After reaching the predetermined height, it stays there and turns on the circular scanning mode to detect problems on the pier.
The image data it sends is processed to generate a building information model, which helps accurately pinpoint the cracks so that measures can be taken to ensure the safety of the bridge.