Dr. Eric Sjerve from IRISNDT is chairing Sprint Robotics North America (SRNA), a group with the goal of speeding up the implementation of robotic inspection and maintenance solutions for capital intensive industries. This end-user based group is now testing robotic inspection and maintenance solutions in real-world conditions. The group chose the Disaster City test facility in College Station, Texas; this test site is a 90 minute drive from Houston. The large facility, also referred to as TEEX (Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service), is equipped with pressure vessels, tanks and piping; it is ideal for the robotics evaluations.

In August and November, SRNA demonstrated their achievements to companies around the world. They:

• Obtained an API 510 internal visual inspectionreport based on a robotic internal pressure vessel inspection.
• Mapped the Disaster City testing area with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
• Performed UAV flights inside confined spaces.
• Obtained a first glance view of the inside of a pressure vessel with a robot. This demonstrated the power of virtual reality allowing the witnesses to “see” inside the vessel while standing outside.

With these results, IRISNDT has demonstrated that robotic internal pressure vessel inspection in-lieu of human entry is feasible. Now IRISNDT is preparing for commercial robotic internal pressure vessel inspections in 2017.