Underwater vehicles and inspection methods
US10272980B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 14, 2017 |
| Grant date | Apr 30, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 14, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2291/267
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for performing operations using a water environment robotic system on a target section of pipeline located in an underwater environment is provided. The method includes the steps of deploying the underwater robotic vehicle into the water and visually inspecting the underwater environment to locate the pipeline and its plurality of weld joints. A cleaning operation is performed at one of the plurality of weld joints using the underwater robotic vehicle. The robotic vehicle can land on the sea floor and deploy a robotic arm to inspect the cleaned weld joint. The underwater can then swim to a next weld joint and land and perform cleaning and inspection operations, which can be repeated until all inspection sites are inspected.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.