Industries are getting smarter day by day, and they can’t afford to miss the advantages of innovative technologies. As robotic technology also finds more ways of improvement for the industrial sector, the water industry is no exception. This article gives an overview of some pioneering ways to apply robotics to the water treatment industry.
How Robots help to improve the water industry
Robotic technology helps the water industry in different ways. Let’s discuss which parts of the water industry need improvement that industrial robots can help out.
Robots help in leak-detection and maintenance problems
In many areas of the world, people face water scarcity problems. One of the reasons for water scarcity is leakage too. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, 30% of water lost is because of leaks, and due to this concern access to some cities is restricted for hours. Sometimes such cities which have water scarcity get water from other places.
Watch Tower Robotics company has introduced a soft-sided prototype robot. This robotic technology can access the inside of a pipe. It detects the leakage from the changes in the force of water flow with its sensors. It also ratifies the position of a leak within a short distance of pipe. Likewise, it’s far better than the current method of digging up streets or sections inside buildings to find out the source of matter.
Robots help in cleaning tanks of drinking water
It is very important to keep the drinking water tanks clean for the health safety of a community. As there are two major techniques to clean such tanks. The one is draining the tanks and the second hires divers for this job.
What robotic technology companies can do is to build robots that can perform this task. In this regard, different robotics companies are trying their best to provide these water treatment services. An Australian entity called Fremantle created a division called Watertight Robotics. This company has offered diving services for more than thirty years to clean portable water tanks and perform a role in water treatment.
This company applies oil-free robots which not only carry cleaning tasks but also avoid stirring up the water or harm the supply in other way.
Robots assist in Water Treatment Services
Hospitals and nuclear power plants need water treatment through a closed-loop system. Robots can ensure water treatment and reduce the chances of contamination in the water supply to these sensitive places.
There is a need for a partnership between robotic companies and wastewater treatment companies. This partnership can evaluate the effects of using robots for water treatment. This partnership will also test the feasibility of robots in outdoor wastewater treatment plants.
Robots can help out Water Pollution eradication
To assure that water is safe to drink professionals work hard in water treatment. So, they play a vital role in disposing of wastewater. However, it is not the responsibility of merely these professionals of water industries, but personnel from other sectors are also responsible in the same context.
A report about chicken plants declares that such plants send toxic water into the lakes and water resources. The wastewater from these plants consists of the high level of nitrogen and phosphorus which are very dangerous to humans as well as aquatic animals.
Industrial robots can give authentic information about such issues. So, authorities can easily find out such parties and penalize them accordingly. A robot called an eel-inspired robot is capable to screen out these types of water pollutants. It has artificial as well as biological sensors. More, this robot can measure the toxicity of these chemicals in the water and doesn’t disturb biotic components of water.
The robotic technology is very well and performed remarkably in the lab tests. Moreover, it has also a customization option for sensors according to a particular type of contaminants. So, robots can play their role to look for water pollution as well.
Robots can cut down pipe replacement project cost
Most of the water treatment industries annually run a project of water pipe replacement. And the fact and figures show that these projects are very expensive. For instance, one mile of water pipe replacement costs about $3 million in a city like San Francisco.
As this method is very costly and time taking because the parties in the industry could only replace the pipes half-percent of the entire network a year.
The water industry has a grading system that depends on the age of a pipe and leakage history. The pipe with the best condition wins A-grade while the pipe that is about to fail gets an F-grade. Now robotic companies like HiBot USA found the solution for this issue.
They send a robot into the pipe to evaluate the given grade as well as to find out the condition of the pipe. The robot also figures out which pipe needs to be replaced in the city. The company claims that it can calculate rates of future failure of pipes with an accuracy of around about 80% to 90%.
It means water treatment companies would be able to better deal with their resources and point out pipes that are mostly expected to create issues in near future. In addition, with the use of a robotic system, a clear picture can be obtained of the condition of the pipe network. This could allow water industries to replace the pipes at the correct place and right time.
It will exclude the unnecessary replacement project cost and time. Because the pipe system comprises a wide diversity of diameters, materials, and alignment. And this could only be done with robotic technology.
Bottom Line
These pioneering ways to apply robotics to the water treatment industry and similar to them might help the water sector function more competently and provide customers more constant access to clean and safe water.
Title Source:
https://www.kwrwater.nl/en/actueel/robotics-in-the-water-industry