Pipebots for rising mains

Pipebots for Rising Mains – Research & Feasibility Study

Led by: Thames Water

Partners: Wessex Water, Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig (Welsh Water), The University of Sheffield, Synthotech Ltd

See project updates on the Thames Water website.

Rising mains are sewage pipes which are pressurised so sewage can be pumped up hills to be treated at sewage works. It is difficult to survey these pipes because they are hard to access and to shut off so they can be inspected internally. Using robots on rising mains will help the industry spot, predict and fix pipes which are deteriorating before they burst preventing pollutions to the environment. This project will test the use of robots to assess the internal condition of these types of pipes to radically change the way how the industry takes care of this type of infrastructure. The water industry already uses human-controlled robots to assess its partially filled sewer tunnels and sewers which use gravity to move sewage. This project will pave the way for the autonomous robotics technology to be used in fully pressurised sewer pipes.

“Preventing bursts and pollutions to the environment is a top priority and robots are already used to assess the condition of some sewer pipes. 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.” – Rachel Cunningham, Networks R&D Manager, Thames Water

The second phase of the project is being supported by further funding from the Water Breakthrough Challenge 4: Catalyst Stream; read more about Pipebots for Rising Mains 2 here.

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Resources

For more information on Pipebots for rising mains, take a look at the following resources:

• Read the case study from December 2022
• The foreground IPR developed by this project is as follows:
  • Research & Feasibility study report