Motion Analysis of a Flexible Squirm Pipe Robot

This paper describes a flexible squirm pipe robot with magnetic wheels for inspecting the inner casing of pipes with complex shaped structures. Due to the special design of its transmission system and mobile mechanism, the peristaltic motion and self-steering in pipe can be realized. The robot can adapt to the pipeline with different diameters by changing its supporting mechanism automatically. All the functions of this robot are realized only by one motor, so the robot has simple structure and high utilization of driving. This paper also presents the analyses of the motion and move condition in the straight pipe. The analysis and simulation prove the robot effective.