In-pipe inspection robots have proven useful in examining the inside of pipes without affecting their structure, therefore, the interest in researching these robots has constantly increased over time. There are many different types of inspection robots, but the most commonly used are the wall pressed type. This paper proposes a review of the wall pressed type inspection robots in terms of adapting mechanisms. By adapting mechanism is meant a simple linkage or a combination of linkages, with an active or passive force generation system used to adapt the robot to variations in pipe diameter. The characteristics of the different adaptation mechanisms are compared and analyzed regarding the type of linkages used, how the pressure force on the pipe wall is obtained, and the possibility of ensuring the movement through inclined or vertical pipes with elbows and branches.

In the first part of the paper, authors present a new in pipe inspection minirobot with wheeled adaptable structure for pipe diameters ranging from 220 to 380 mm. The mechanical structure is composed of three adaptable mechanisms placed at 120 degrees around the central axes. For adapting to the interior surface of the pipe, a passive method is used which utilizes elastic elements. In the second part of the paper, authors present the simulation of in pipe minirobot locomotion, components of driving and control systems, user interface, conclusions and future development areas.

The first part of the paper presents a short introduction into the hybrid robots field and a classification for the wheel-leg hybrid robots. The second part presents the design and functionality of the locomotion unit proposed by the authors and the last part details the development paths proposed by the authors for this locomotion unit.

Inspection and exploration represent a challenging domain in the field of robotics because of the hazardous and limited workspace to which the robots have to adapt and because of the reduced ability to monitor and acquire data about the inspected environment. A pipeline inspection robot must ensure sufficient traction force to pull its tether cable and other equipment while travelling inside a pipeline to complete inspection, maintenance, and repair tasks. This paper presents the design of three minirobots with adaptable structure for in pipe inspection and the experimental determination of their traction force. To measure the traction force of the minirobots, the Xplorer GLX digital measuring device was used.

This paper presents a new pipeline inspection minirobot with linkage type mechanisms whose operation range allows good mobility inside the pipes having different diameters, from 50 mm to 70 mm. Our research group made efforts towards development of a prototype of the minirobot. The preliminary experimental research emphasizes the operation in accordance with the presented theoretical concepts.

In this paper the authors present contributions to the development of search and rescue mobile robots. The first part of the paper describes the characteristics of search and rescue field. In the second part the authors presented the development and construction of an experimental prototype focusing on the locomotion systems for the search and rescue field and the results of the physical experiments done and the design and development of a proposed search and rescue mobile robot based on the lessons learned from the experiments. The third part contains the operation and control of the robot. The fourth section presents the simulation of the hybrid locomotion system of the proposed search and rescue mobile robot. The last part of the paper contains the development directions and conclusions.