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<p>Subterranean and industrial pipelines are critical infrastructure for transporting water, oil, and gas, yet their internal complexity—featuring varying diameters, sharp turns, and multi-directional junctions—poses significant challenges for conventional inspection robots. We present SPPIRO, a fully untethered soft robot designed for adaptive pipeline inspection in such environments. SPPIRO integrates compact, custom-designed PCBs for onboard power, sensing, and control, enabling fully untethered operation. Its anchoring modules use motor-driven six-bar linkages with 3D-printed, honeycomb-inspired soft wheels, allowing adaptation to pipeline diameters ranging from 140 to 200 mm. The propulsion module consists of three self-sensing pneumatic Kresling origami actuators arranged at 120°, providing omnidirectional steering and real-time body shape estimation. Using a Piecewise Constant Curvature (PCC) model, SPPIRO reconstructs both its own configuration and the surrounding pipe geometry during motion. Liquid-metal-based capacitive sensors embedded in the feet enable contact-aware anchoring, even in opaque pipelines. Experiments demonstrate SPPIRO’s ability to traverse vertical and horizontal segments, 90° turns, and T-junctions, achieving speeds up to 9.5 mm/s—outperforming prior untethered soft in-pipe robots. These results position SPPIRO as a promising platform for autonomous, geometry-aware pipeline inspection.</p>

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SPPIRO: a Soft, Power-autonomous, Proprioceptive In-pipe Robot for adaptive inspection in complex pipeline environments

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月1日

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  • Zexiong Chen,
  • Xinqi Zhang,
  • Jiaqi Wang,
  • Xiaonan Huang

摘要

Subterranean and industrial pipelines are critical infrastructure for transporting water, oil, and gas, yet their internal complexity—featuring varying diameters, sharp turns, and multi-directional junctions—poses significant challenges for conventional inspection robots. We present SPPIRO, a fully untethered soft robot designed for adaptive pipeline inspection in such environments. SPPIRO integrates compact, custom-designed PCBs for onboard power, sensing, and control, enabling fully untethered operation. Its anchoring modules use motor-driven six-bar linkages with 3D-printed, honeycomb-inspired soft wheels, allowing adaptation to pipeline diameters ranging from 140 to 200 mm. The propulsion module consists of three self-sensing pneumatic Kresling origami actuators arranged at 120°, providing omnidirectional steering and real-time body shape estimation. Using a Piecewise Constant Curvature (PCC) model, SPPIRO reconstructs both its own configuration and the surrounding pipe geometry during motion. Liquid-metal-based capacitive sensors embedded in the feet enable contact-aware anchoring, even in opaque pipelines. Experiments demonstrate SPPIRO’s ability to traverse vertical and horizontal segments, 90° turns, and T-junctions, achieving speeds up to 9.5 mm/s—outperforming prior untethered soft in-pipe robots. These results position SPPIRO as a promising platform for autonomous, geometry-aware pipeline inspection.