SPIRo (Soft Pipe Inspection Robot)

Pipelines are responsible for 90% of the natural gas and crude oil transferred in the United States, but these pipes, among other infrastructure, are becoming more prone to failure as they age. However, detecting pipeline leaks are particularly challenging since they are located in complex environments and remote landscapes, with the ability to inspect their health being affected by external conditions such as weather. Because of this, major gas leaks occur every 40 hours in the US alone, while fugitive leaks, which are harder to detect due to their small size, continue to emit methane into the environment methane. In total, this accounts for nearly 6 million tons of the methane that is emitted by the US into the environment annually, a greenhouse gas up to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. A solution to detecting gas leaks accurately and at a low-cost is critical to reducing environmental damage and risk. 

SPIRo is a soft pipe inspection robot designed to inspect natural gas distribution pipelines. It is equipped with three sensors: a thermal imaging camera and two metal oxide gas composition sensors. It utilizes a lightweight ensemble learning method to process this data and detect gas leaks.