These Air Duct Cleaning Robots were designed and developed to inspect and clean cylindrical air ducts installed in forced air systems, such as in ships and oil rigs.
An operator can control the robot to manoeuvre through the air duct while observing the live video feed on his mobile phone or display. Equipped with an Air Whip, dust particles can be agitated off the duct walls. Alternatively, an Air Curtain
could be used, to flush the particles out of the duct. Both the Air Whip and Curtain operate with compressed air.
The Mini Bendy Robot and Skeletal Robot are designed to operate within a ⌀100mm and a ⌀120mm pipe respectively. They use smart motors to achieve smooth manoeuvrability and have joints which allow them to negotiate pipe elbows. The Skeletal
Robot is adaptable to varying pipe diameters and is able to climb up a pipe due to its spring mechanism. Custom designed PCBs are used to ensure the control circuits are small enough to fit into the compact mechanical design, while custom
designed wheels are used to improve traction within the duct.
These robots increase operators’ productivity and reduce their health risks by reducing direct contact with the dust particles.