Rain and sewage pipeline intelligent inspection robot control system based on multi-sensor fusion

Abstract

This invention discloses a control system for an intelligent inspection robot for stormwater and sewage pipelines, comprising a microcontroller unit, a multi-sensor module, an image acquisition module, a communication module, and a power module. Through multi-sensor collaborative perception and intelligent decision-making mechanisms, it integrates multi-dimensional data such as images, distance, and environmental data, and employs adaptive path planning and obstacle avoidance algorithms, making it suitable for autonomous inspection tasks in complex pipeline environments. The image acquisition module integrates a high-definition camera and a WiFi module; the distance detection unit combines ultrasonic and infrared ranging sensors to achieve complementary ranging and improve detection accuracy; the environmental monitoring unit uses gas sensors to detect the concentration of toxic and flammable gases such as ammonia and sulfides in the pipeline in real time, and automatically triggers an early warning when the concentration exceeds the standard. This effectively solves the problems of existing pipeline robots, such as single sensor detection methods, poor environmental adaptability, and insufficient intelligence, improving inspection efficiency and system reliability, and reducing manual maintenance costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of control system technology, and in particular to a control system for an intelligent inspection robot for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion. Background Technology

[0002] Urban underground drainage networks, as a crucial component supporting urban operations, are key infrastructure for ensuring public safety and maintaining environmental sanitation. With the increasing age of these networks, a series of structural safety hazards have accumulated within the pipes, including material aging, pipe wall cracks, internal and external surface corrosion, severe internal blockages, and leaks at pipe joints. Traditionally, inspections relying on manual entry into the pipes present workers with high-risk working environments—such as confined spaces, potential accumulation of toxic gases, and the risk of pipe wall collapse—and are also inefficient, suffer from numerous blind spots, rely heavily on personal experience, and are highly subjective. This approach is no longer adequate for the urgent needs of modern cities for refined, routine, and preventative maintenance and management of urban drainage systems.

[0003] In recent years, technologies such as pipeline inspection robots have seen some development and application, but existing solutions still have significant limitations. Most inspection robots are equipped with only a single type of sensor (such as a visual camera or sonar alone), resulting in insufficient detection dimensions and incomplete information acquisition. This makes it difficult to comprehensively and accurately assess the structural defects (such as cracks and corrosion) and functional status (such as water flow capacity and siltation) of pipelines in environments filled with turbid water or in complete darkness. Furthermore, these robots often operate using pre-programmed fixed procedures or rely on manual remote control, lacking autonomous navigation and decision-making capabilities. They cannot flexibly cope with dynamic and complex real-world conditions such as unknown obstacles, severe siltation, and sudden changes in pipe diameter, making them prone to getting trapped, overturning, or suffering mechanical damage. In addition, existing robots often lack real-time processing and intelligent analysis capabilities for collected data. Communication links are easily interrupted by complex underground environments, and the limited battery life of built-in power modules leads to insufficient operating time. They also generally lack system self-checking functions and fault-tolerant recovery mechanisms in case of failure. These factors collectively contribute to the current low success rate and limited practicality of pipeline robot inspection tasks. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, a first aspect of this invention proposes a multi-sensor fusion-based intelligent inspection robot control system for stormwater and sewage pipelines, including a sensor module, a communication module, a power module, an early warning module, and a control module. The sensor module includes an image acquisition unit, a distance detection unit, and an environmental monitoring unit, used to collect multi-dimensional status information inside the pipeline in real time. The communication module is used to establish a connection with an external monitoring terminal to realize the issuance of control commands and the uploading of inspection data, ensuring the real-time performance and reliability of two-way data interaction. The power module is used to drive the robot to move smoothly inside the pipeline and perform posture adjustments according to control commands to adapt to complex working conditions inside the pipeline. The early warning module includes an audible and visual alarm circuit, which is used to issue audible and visual prompts when an abnormal state is detected, so as to realize real-time alarm for faults and dangerous situations; the control module includes a microcontroller unit, which is used to process the data collected by the sensor module and dynamically adjust the output of the power module.

[0005] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the microcontroller unit adopts an STM32 series microcontroller, whose internal firmware integrates a multi-threaded real-time task scheduler for synchronously processing multiple sensor data and coordinating the output timing of control commands.

[0006] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the image acquisition unit includes a high-definition camera and a WiFi transmission module; the high-definition camera is disposed at the front end of the main body of the device and is used to acquire circumferential images of the inner wall of the pipe; the WiFi transmission module is used to wirelessly transmit the acquired image data to an external handheld terminal in real time.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the distance detection unit includes an ultrasonic sensor and an infrared ranging sensor, the ultrasonic sensor and the infrared ranging sensor being used to measure the real-time distance between the robot and the inner wall of the pipe, and the distance to obstacles in front.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the environmental monitoring unit includes a gas sensor and a temperature and humidity sensor; the gas sensor is used to detect the concentration of ammonia and toxic flammable sulfide gases in the pipeline in real time; the temperature and humidity sensor is used to monitor the temperature and humidity parameters in the pipeline in real time.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the communication module includes a Bluetooth module, which is connected to the microcontroller unit.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion further includes an early warning module. The early warning module is connected to the microcontroller unit. When the sensor module detects that the pipeline defect exceeds the standard or the environmental parameters are abnormal, the microcontroller unit triggers the early warning module to start an audible and visual alarm, and at the same time sends graded alarm information to an external monitoring terminal through the communication module.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion further includes a power supply module, which is electrically connected to the control module and comprises the sensor module, the communication module, and the power module.

[0012] The present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: 1. First, by integrating multiple sensing functions such as gas detection, temperature and humidity monitoring, infrared ranging, ultrasonic obstacle avoidance, and image acquisition into the same control system, the collaborative perception and fusion processing of multi-source environmental information is realized. This overcomes the problems of single sensor function and data silos in traditional pipeline robots, and significantly improves the system's comprehensive perception capability of complex pipeline environments. The system uniformly schedules multi-sensor data fusion, adaptive path planning, and obstacle avoidance algorithms, enabling the robot to dynamically adjust its inspection strategy according to real-time environmental changes without frequent manual intervention, effectively reducing the operational burden and labor costs.

[0013] 2. Furthermore, the system integrates Bluetooth wireless communication and WiFi image transmission capabilities, supporting remote command control and real-time video feedback, expanding the inspection range and enhancing emergency response capabilities. In addition, when excessive gas concentrations or abnormal pipeline structures are detected, the system can automatically trigger audible and visual alarms, providing immediate warnings and enhancing the safety of the inspection process. Finally, through modular design and unified power management, this control system improves its integration, stability, and scalability, providing a reliable hardware foundation for intelligent and unmanned inspection of stormwater and sewage pipelines.

[0014] 3. Through the above modular design and collaborative control strategy, this invention realizes an integrated pipeline inspection robot control system with compact structure, comprehensive environmental perception, intelligent decision response, and suitability for complex working conditions. It can be widely used in various scenarios such as urban stormwater and sewage pipe network survey, drainage pipe structural defect detection, toxic gas early warning, and unmanned autonomous inspection, and has good universality and promotion value.

[0015] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0016] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structural framework of an adaptive control system for an intelligent inspection robot for stormwater and sewage pipes based on multi-sensor fusion, according to the present invention. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the STM32 minimum system unit of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the image acquisition unit of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the ultrasonic unit of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the infrared unit of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the gas detection circuit of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the temperature and humidity detection unit of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the drive circuit of the present invention; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the 3530 motor unit of the present invention; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the Bluetooth unit of the present invention; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the audible and visual alarm unit of the present invention; Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the power supply circuit of the present invention; Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the data transmission process of an adaptive control system for an intelligent inspection robot for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion, as described in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0017] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0018] Please refer to Figure 1 A smart inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipes based on multi-sensor fusion, its overall architecture design is as follows: Figure 1As shown, the system is composed of multiple functional parts, including a microcontroller core unit, a sensor monitoring module, a data communication module, a high-definition image acquisition and transmission module, a power drive and control module, and a stable and efficient power management module, aiming to achieve comprehensive intelligent perception and autonomous control of the internal environment of the pipeline.

[0019] like Figure 2 As shown, the system's microcontroller unit uses the STM32F103C8T6 series high-performance microcontroller based on the ARM Cortex-M3 core as the core processing chip. With its excellent computing performance, rich peripheral interfaces and low power consumption, this chip undertakes important tasks such as real-time acquisition of various sensor data in the system, accurate execution of fusion algorithms and coordinated distribution of control commands. It is the central hub to ensure the stable operation and intelligent decision-making of the entire system.

[0020] The specific structure of the system's image acquisition unit is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, this unit integrates a high-resolution wide-angle camera and a high-speed WiFi wireless transmission module. The two work together through circuitry and employ the USART serial communication protocol for efficient data exchange and command communication with the microcontroller unit. The high-definition camera is carefully positioned at the front of the robot, its core function being to perform a 360-degree circumferential scan of the pipe's inner wall to capture clear, continuous images of the internal surface. The accompanying WiFi transmission module is responsible for compressing and encoding the massive amounts of image data captured by the camera in real time, and then stably transmitting it to an external monitoring terminal held by the operator via a wireless network link. This allows the user to instantly view the visual condition inside the pipe and remotely analyze and assess potential defects such as cracks, blockages, or corrosion.

[0021] To ensure the robot's safe and autonomous movement in narrow, unstructured pipe environments, the system is designed with a high-precision distance detection unit, such as... Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the system mainly consists of ultrasonic sensors and infrared ranging sensors. These two sensors complement each other in their working principles and measurement characteristics: ultrasonic sensors excel at ranging over long distances and on complex surfaces, while infrared sensors perform exceptionally well in short-distance, high-precision measurements. By spatially correlating and fusing the measurement data from both, the system can acquire real-time and accurate distance information between the robot and the inner walls of the pipeline on each side, as well as detect the distance to obstacles along the path. This fused multi-frame distance data provides crucial information for the robot's motion control algorithm, enabling it to intelligently assess the environment and achieve smooth forward movement, autonomous turning, and flexible obstacle avoidance.

[0022] Environmental safety is a crucial consideration during pipeline inspection; therefore, the system integrates a dedicated environmental monitoring unit. This unit includes gas concentration detection circuitry and temperature and humidity detection units, enabling continuous real-time monitoring of various key environmental parameters within the pipeline interior. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the core of the gas detection circuit is the MQ-135 semiconductor gas sensor. This sensor has high detection sensitivity for various toxic and harmful gases commonly found in pipelines, such as hydrogen sulfide, benzene vapor, and ammonia. Its operating logic is clear: when the sensor detects that the concentration of a certain gas in the surrounding environment exceeds a preset safety threshold, its digital output (DO) pin immediately switches to a low level, driving the connected alarm indicator light to illuminate, providing a clear local alarm; if the gas concentration falls back to the safe range, the DO pin returns to a high level, and the indicator light turns off. In addition to the digital switching signal, the sensor's analog output (AO) pin can also provide a continuous analog voltage signal proportional to the gas concentration. This signal can be directly connected to the microcontroller's analog-to-digital converter (ADC) interface, where the controller performs periodic sampling and quantification analysis, thereby achieving quantitative monitoring of the gas concentration.

[0023] The specific implementation of the temperature and humidity sensor unit is as follows: Figure 7 As shown, the highly integrated DHT11 digital temperature and humidity sensor chip was selected. This chip integrates the humidity sensor, the thermistor, signal conditioning, and analog-to-digital conversion circuitry into a single unit, enabling direct output of calibrated digital signals, greatly simplifying system design. Its core sensing elements include a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor for accurate ambient temperature measurement and a resistive polymer humidity sensor for sensing ambient humidity. The raw analog signal sensed by the sensor is digitized internally and then communicates with the microcontroller via a simple and efficient 1-Wire serial protocol. Each communication sends a 40-bit data packet containing integer / decimal digits of temperature and humidity, along with an 8-bit checksum. This design effectively ensures the accuracy and reliability of data transmission.

[0024] like Figure 8 and Figure 9As shown, to endow the robot with smooth, flexible, and controllable movement capabilities, the system's power module utilizes the professional motor driver chip TB6612. This chip can simultaneously and independently drive two 3530 DC geared motors mounted on the left and right sides of the robot, forming a differential drive system. The control system uses pulse width modulation (PWM) technology to flexibly adjust the duty cycle of the drive voltage applied to the two motors, thereby precisely and smoothly controlling the rotational speed of the left and right wheels. By programming and changing the state of each output port of the drive module, precise control of various operating modes such as forward rotation, reverse rotation, braking, and no-load operation of the motors can be achieved. This is the foundation for realizing the robot's forward, backward, turning, and speed adjustment.

[0025] The system's local communication and debugging functions are provided by Figure 10 The Bluetooth module shown provides support. This Bluetooth module connects to the microcontroller unit via a serial port. When short-range data interaction, parameter configuration, or system debugging is required, this module can quickly establish a secure point-to-point wireless communication link with handheld terminal devices such as smartphones and tablets. Through this link, operators can read all raw data collected by sensors in real time on the terminal application, monitor system operating status parameters, and easily issue specific debugging instructions or control commands to the microcontroller, greatly improving the convenience of system deployment and maintenance.

[0026] The early warning module is a key component in achieving proactive safety, as shown in the diagram below. Figure 11 As shown, when the sensor modules distributed in various locations (such as distance, gas, and image recognition units) detect serious defects in the pipeline (such as huge cracks or collapses), severely excessive environmental parameters (such as toxic gas concentrations), or abnormal robot operation, the microcontroller unit will immediately trigger the early warning module. This module then activates an audible and visual alarm combining flashing bright LED lights and a buzzer to attract the attention of on-site personnel. Simultaneously, the controller will send a tiered alarm message containing information such as the type, level, and location of the anomaly to the external monitoring terminal via Bluetooth (or the main communication module), facilitating rapid situation assessment and the initiation of appropriate emergency response procedures by the monitoring center.

[0027] A stable and reliable energy supply is the fundamental guarantee for the long-term continuous operation of the entire system. Figure 12 The system's power module design was demonstrated. This module is electrically connected to the core control module. It receives external battery input and processes it through multi-stage voltage regulation, filtering, and protection circuits to provide continuous, clean, and stable power to the microcontroller, various sensor modules, communication modules (WiFi / Bluetooth), power drive module, and all other power-consuming units. This ensures that the robot can complete several hours of continuous inspection tasks after a single charge, unaffected by voltage fluctuations.

[0028] like Figure 13As shown, the complete workflow begins with the inspection robot being powered on or receiving a start command from the remote monitoring center. Subsequently, the entire adaptive control system immediately enters an active working state. The gas detection circuit, temperature and humidity sensors, and infrared and ultrasonic ranging units begin working first, continuously collecting environmental parameters within the pipeline, such as the real-time concentration of toxic and harmful gases, ambient temperature and humidity, and precise distances to the surrounding walls and obstacles in front. These collected multi-source signals are transmitted in real-time to the STM32 minimum system core unit, which performs rapid data processing, fusion analysis, and logical judgment, generating control decisions accordingly, such as triggering autonomous obstacle avoidance maneuvers or activating audible and visual alarms. Simultaneously, the image acquisition unit begins working, with a high-definition camera continuously capturing video streams inside the pipeline and transmitting the compressed video image data to the remote monitoring terminal with almost no delay via its built-in WiFi module for real-time observation by the operator. Finally, the control unit generates corresponding motor control signals based on the pre-embedded intelligent inspection logic algorithm or real-time remote control commands received from the operator via Bluetooth. These signals are sent to the TB6612 motor drive circuit, driving the two 3530 DC motors on the left and right to operate with precise speed and torque. This directs the robot to complete a series of precise inspection actions, such as autonomous navigation, key area surveying, and obstacle avoidance, in the complex and dimly lit network of rainwater and sewage pipes. During pipeline inspection, the inspection equipment will perform a series of motion control actions, including forward, backward, turning, and attitude adjustment. When the system detects that the gas concentration exceeds the safety threshold, that the ambient temperature and humidity fluctuate abnormally, or that the pipeline has defects such as cracks, corrosion, or deformation as determined by high-definition cameras and image recognition algorithms, the control unit will respond quickly and immediately trigger the audible and visual alarm unit, issuing a high-intensity audible and visual alarm signal to effectively alert on-site and surrounding personnel to take timely countermeasures. At the same time, the integrated power supply circuit continuously provides a stable and reliable power supply to all functional modules, ensuring that the entire system has uninterrupted power during long-term operation. This allows the sensing, communication, power, and early warning modules to work continuously and collaboratively to complete the tasks of autonomous inspection, real-time monitoring, and remote data transmission of the pipeline environment.

[0029] The system proposed in this invention utilizes an STM32 series microcontroller as its core to construct a highly efficient control unit, achieving centralized control and task coordination scheduling of sensor modules, wireless communication modules, power drive modules, audible and visual warning modules, and power management modules. This control unit establishes a high-speed data path between various environmental sensing devices and actuators, providing multi-source information fusion and real-time command interaction capabilities, thereby effectively avoiding control decision conflicts or system response delays that may arise due to diverse signal sources and asynchronous processing. It should be noted that the physical layout of each functional module and their electrical connections are not limited to the specific implementation shown in the accompanying drawings. Within the scope of the core design concept of this invention, those skilled in the art can make various equivalent substitutions and adaptive optimizations to the sensor selection, placement, and circuit topology according to the specific needs of actual application scenarios. Such variations and improvements based on the same inventive concept should all be included within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

[0030] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-sensor fusion-based intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines, characterized in that, include: The sensor module includes an image acquisition unit, a distance detection unit, and an environmental monitoring unit, used to collect multi-dimensional status information inside the pipeline in real time; The communication module is used to establish a connection with an external monitoring terminal to enable the issuance of control commands and the uploading of inspection data, ensuring the real-time performance and reliability of two-way data interaction. The power module is used to drive the robot to move smoothly inside the pipeline and to perform posture adjustments according to control commands to adapt to the complex working conditions inside the pipeline. The early warning module includes an audible and visual alarm circuit, which is used to issue audible and visual prompts when an abnormal state is detected, so as to realize real-time alarm for faults and dangerous situations. The control module includes a microcontroller unit, which processes the data collected by the sensor module and dynamically adjusts the output of the power module.

2. The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The microcontroller unit uses an STM32 series microcontroller, whose internal firmware integrates a multi-threaded real-time task scheduler for synchronously processing multiple sensor data and coordinating the output timing of control commands.

3. The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The image acquisition unit includes a high-definition camera and a WiFi transmission module; the high-definition camera is located at the front end of the main body of the device and is used to acquire circumferential images of the inner wall of the pipe; the WiFi transmission module is used to wirelessly transmit the acquired image data to an external handheld terminal in real time.

4. The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distance detection unit includes an ultrasonic sensor and an infrared ranging sensor. The ultrasonic sensor and the infrared ranging sensor are used to measure the real-time distance between the robot and the inner wall of the pipe, and the distance to obstacles in front.

5. The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The environmental monitoring unit includes a gas sensor and a temperature and humidity sensor; the gas sensor is used to detect the concentration of ammonia and toxic flammable gases containing sulfides in the pipeline in real time; the temperature and humidity sensor is used to monitor the temperature and humidity parameters in the pipeline in real time.

6. The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication module includes a Bluetooth module, which is connected to the microcontroller unit.

7. The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion also includes an early warning module. The early warning module is connected to the microcontroller unit. When the sensor module detects that the pipeline defect exceeds the standard or the environmental parameters are abnormal, the microcontroller unit triggers the early warning module to start an audible and visual alarm, and at the same time sends graded alarm information to the external monitoring terminal through the communication module.

8. The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The intelligent inspection robot control system for rainwater and sewage pipelines based on multi-sensor fusion also includes a power module, which is electrically connected to the control module and comprises the sensor module, the communication module, and the power module.

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