Crawler Capabilities from Nobleo Technology
Inspecting and cleaning storage tanks is often still done manually. From a safety perspective, the chemical industry wants to make these tasks safer through the application of a robot project. This makes it possible to clean and inspect more safely and efficiently. Nobleo Technology It has created a crawler as a showcase that independently inspects the walls of the tank and cleans the space.
Nobleo Technology started in 2011 in Eindhoven as a consultancy firm and subsequently transformed into an engineering firm. The company currently focuses on intelligent systems and robotics. The latter is partly thanks to the experience gained by employees at TU/E with the TechUnited Robocup team. This team of football robots has become world champions in robot football multiple times in recent years. At Nobleo, the team of engineers works on all kinds of robots. They mainly provide the software and technology that make the robots work autonomously. Often, generic, proven software modules are used, which are combined for a specific purpose and adapted if necessary.
Through KicMPi, Nobleo came into contact with Dow Chemical. The chemical concern in Terneuzen is looking for a solution to inspect and clean its tanks without people having to enter these spaces. Nobleo has since built a prototype of a crawler that can carry out these tasks autonomously. However, the robot needs to be more robust, be able to show what it is doing, and store the collected data. Nobleo expects to have the final product ready for the market by the end of 2021/early 2022. For tasks such as placing the crawler in the tank, Nobleo is collaborating with other participants in KicMPi's Smart Maintenance Labs project.
October 2020 update
The prototype has since been extensively tested. The cylinder with the camera reaches a height of 4 metres. The cable limits the height to a maximum of 2 metres.
In the coming period, tests will be conducted with a different type of metal to reduce metal fatigue. In December, testing will take place in temperature chambers. In January, ExRobotics hopes to have the demonstration model ready, so that the application can be brought to market in the first quarter of 2021.
