Low-Cost Underwater In-Pipe Centering and Inspection Using a Minimal-Sensing Robot

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05265v1
• Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2026 03:45:55 GMT
• Title: Low-Cost Underwater In-Pipe Centering and Inspection Using a Minimal-Sensing Robot
• Abstract summary: This paper presents a minimal-sensing strategy that enables a free-swimming underwater robot to center itself and traverse a flooded pipe of known radius using only an IMU, a pressure sensor, and two sonars.<n>We introduce a computationally efficient method for extracting range estimates from single-beam sonar intensity data, enabling reliable wall detection in noisy and reverberant conditions.
• Score: 1.9336815376402718
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Autonomous underwater inspection of submerged pipelines is challenging due to confined geometries, turbidity, and the scarcity of reliable localization cues. This paper presents a minimal-sensing strategy that enables a free-swimming underwater robot to center itself and traverse a flooded pipe of known radius using only an IMU, a pressure sensor, and two sonars: a downward-facing single-beam sonar and a rotating 360 degree sonar. We introduce a computationally efficient method for extracting range estimates from single-beam sonar intensity data, enabling reliable wall detection in noisy and reverberant conditions. A closed-form geometric model leverages the two sonar ranges to estimate the pipe center, and an adaptive, confidence-weighted proportional-derivative (PD) controller maintains alignment during traversal. The system requires no Doppler velocity log, external tracking, or complex multi-sensor arrays. Experiments in a submerged 46 cm-diameter pipe using a Blue Robotics BlueROV2 heavy remotely operated vehicle demonstrate stable centering and successful full-pipe traversal despite ambient flow and structural deformations. These results show that reliable in-pipe navigation and inspection can be achieved with a lightweight, computationally efficient sensing and processing architecture, advancing the practicality of autonomous underwater inspection in confined environments.

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