Remote control inspector for confined spaces

A confined spaces inspection robot, developed by a team of Sydney Harbour Bridge Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) employees, is designed to eliminate risks for workers and reduce the costs associated with bridge maintenance. “The Remote Control Inspector (RCI) was developed to eliminate the need for people to enter confined spaces on RMS’s network of bridges including hollow concrete and steel bridge support beams,” said an RMS spokesperson.

“On the Sydney Harbour Bridge there are 7.2 kilometres of hollow steel chambers within the arches of the bridge which crews would have to enter.” The RCI is built on the chassis of a remote control rock-scaling buggy which is designed to drive up very steep and rough terrain. It has a four-wheel drive, independent suspension and is driven via a live video feed across a long-range digital signal.

Attached to the chassis is an adventure sport wide-angle video camera to record inspection footage and guide the driving of the RCI, as well as lights, a gas monitor to alarm the operator if driven into a poisonous gas zone, a roll cage to protect the electronics and a safety line to retrieve the RCI if broken down or rolled. “The concept is similar to remote control devices used by the US military such as bomb disposal robots and drones. However, the RCI is small, light and inexpensive and can be assembled from parts available in local electronic shops,” the spokesperson said.

“While RMS has always ensured maximum safety for these inspections and only sends properly trained and accredited inspectors, the project team wanted to remove the risks altogether. Entering a typical bridge confined space, even with best practices in place, carries a risk due to falling from heights and asphyxiation. These risks led to the development of the Remote Control Inspector as users no longer need to enter the confined spaces and can operate remotely from outside the support beams and arches of bridges.

“The invention has improved the safety of the work environment for bridge inspectors. The fact there have been no RMS injuries to date in confined spaces is no reason to become complacent.

“It is also being used as a training device to encourage all RMS employees to look for ways to eliminate risk in all aspects of their work.”

The project team consulted on the prototype development with PhD students and professors from the School of Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Technology, Sydney. The academics have been attending site visits at Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of a research grant with the target of building on the work done by the RCI project team to further develop world-leading bridge inspection robots. The invention is a finalist for the NSW WorkCover Safe Work award, the winner of the RTA Occupational Health and Safety Staff Award and was highly commended in the RTA Staff Awards for Excellence in Innovation.