Research on spatial positioning of online inspection robots for vertical storage tanks

PurposeThis paper aims to introduce a new acoustic positioning method to solve the problem of space positioning for online inspection robots within the storage tank.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed positioning system comprises two acoustic signal emitters and two receivers. Emitters are broug...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Industrial robot 2020-03, Vol.47 (2), p.187-195
Main Authors: Huang, Zhiqiang, He, Lei, Gao, ZhaoXin, Jia, Yingqi, Kang, Yewei, Xie, Dou, Fu, Chunli
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Acoustics
Algorithms
Corrosion
Crude oil
Emitters
Error analysis
Flooring
Inspection
Lasers
Navigation systems
Receivers
Robot dynamics
Robotics
Robots
Software
Storage tanks
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Summary:PurposeThis paper aims to introduce a new acoustic positioning method to solve the problem of space positioning for online inspection robots within the storage tank.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed positioning system comprises two acoustic signal emitters and two receivers. Emitters are brought by the robot into the storage tank. Receivers are mounted on the external edge of the storage tank floor. The spatial coordinate values and motion directions of the robot in the storage tank are calculated by using the proposed acoustic positioning algorithm.FindingsThe experiment results and positioning error analysis indicate that the method can obtain the data of robotic space coordinates and motion orientation, while the positioning error of the method can be less than 20 cm. The accuracy reaches the positioning technology level of other tank online inspection robots.Originality/valueThis method not only expands the positioning of the inspection robots from 2D plane to 3D space but also significantly reduces the number of positioning sensors carried by a robot and improves the safety of a robot in the tank.
ISSN:0143-991X
1758-5791
DOI:10.1108/IR-08-2019-0168