Pipe Mouse is a remotely operated robotic vehicle capable of inspecting nominally 4-6" diameter live natural gas pipes. It is capable of driving in any orientation, including vertically, through liquid and sludge. It is capable of traversing multiple 90 degree elbows, T's and other fittings. Communication with the base station is achieved by means of a fiber optic tether which is spooled out and then reeled back into one of the modular payload units. The modules are designed to hold multiple arrays of sensors as well as all battery power.
This was a multi-year, multi-million dollar project. I designed key subcomponents with Anvil and an early release of ProEngineer.
DOE Pipe Mouse Project Summary