Utility Week

38 | JUNE 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Analysis continued from previous page – one historically met by physically demand- ing methods such as bar-holing and trench excavation. However, off the back of a £78,000 investment from Ofgem's Strategic Innova- tion Fund, Northern Gas Networks and tech firm Synovate have embarked on a thermal imagery and robotics trial to assess the pres- sure condition of pipes, explore their inter- nal features, and simulate change scenarios. Its patented LeakVision technology is a robot mounted in-pipe detection sensor sys- tem used to visualise leakage and – like the infamous movie character – offer "Predator- style" heat-seeking vision in real time to identify a point of leakage. The project team are also in the process of exploring how the technology can be applied to gauge pipeline suitability for hydro- gen conversion, as well as reduce leakage points and risk when managing emergency response on a hydrogen network. Aquabot – tracking water pollution in real time The most recent data from event duration monitors supplied by water companies and published by the Environment Agency (EA) revealed there were 372,533 discharges from 14,470 combined sewer overflows in 2021. Additionally, with just 14% of English rivers meeting the criteria for "good" ecological status, according to the EA, it's clear that tracking and tackling the component parts of what the Environmental Audit Commit- tee describes as a "chemical cocktail" is essential. Consequently, in an attempt to provide greater and safer access to remote locations for environmental sample and data collec- tion, Altitude Thinking has harnessed both aerial and submersible drones alongside a fleet of remote control and autonomous boats. Arguably its flagship product, the water- borne Aquabot is equipped with multiple sensors to measure water pollution levels in real time – gauging turbidity, conductivity, PH/ORP, temperature and dissolved oxygen levels. The robot is deployed on large bodies of inland water with radio control distances up to 500m and an operating time of six hours. Its GPS-based autopilot adds autonomous capabilities up to 250m and travel to 500 dif- ferent programmed points of interest. Live data is transmitted from Aquabot to an on-shore "pilot" via a custom app featur- ing a Google Map display with the numeri- cal data from the sensor plotted at the point where the data was captured. This plots potential points of pollution and allow man- agement to take preventative action. Pipebots – autonomous tech in pressurised sewage Soon to join the Aquabot on pollution patrol are Pipebots, designed as part of a Thames Water-led project which received £230,930 funding from the Ofwat Water Breakthrough Challenge in March. Rising mains are pipes that are pressur- ised so sewage can be pumped uphill for treatment. However, according to Thames, they are difficult to survey because they are hard to access, shut off and inspect inter- nally. Consequently faults o¤en come to light only when pipes burst. The Pipebot collaboration between Thames, Wessex Water, Dwr Cymru, the Uni- versity of Sheffield and engineering firm Syn- thotech, seeks to monitor faults and reduce the risk of spills by using robots to assess the internal condition of these pipes and over- haul the way they're managed. While the water industry already uses human-controlled robots to assess partially filled sewer tunnels and sewers, Pipebots will pave the way for the autonomous tech- nology to be used in fully pressurised sewer pipes, and ultimately help spot, predict and fix deteriorating pipes before they burst. "Preventing bursts and pollutions to the environment is a top priority and robots are already used to assess the condition of some sewer pipes," Rachel Cunningham, net- works research and development manager at Thames Water explains. "Testing this technology on pressurised sewage pipes will help the water industry protect and carry out maintenance work on its sewer networks for years to come." Stuart Stone, editor, Utility Week Innovate Altitude Thinking is developing a suite of autonomous boats, such as Aquabot Northern Gas Networks and Synovate have developed heat-sensing LeakVision

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