Design of an In-Pipe Robot with Contact-Angle-Guided Kinematic Decoupling for Crosstalk-Suppressed Locomotion

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27245v1
• Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2026 11:40:36 GMT
• Title: Design of an In-Pipe Robot with Contact-Angle-Guided Kinematic Decoupling for Crosstalk-Suppressed Locomotion
• Abstract summary: In-pipe inspection robots must traverse confined pipeline networks with elbows and three-dimensional fittings.<n>In compact V-shaped platforms, these functions often rely on shared contacts or indirect actuation.<n>This paper presents a V-shaped in-pipe robot with a joint-axis-and-wheel-separation layout that provides two physically independent actuation channels.
• Score: 20.379309593600414
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: In-pipe inspection robots must traverse confined pipeline networks with elbows and three-dimensional fittings, requiring both reliable axial traction and rapid rolling reorientation for posture correction. In compact V-shaped platforms, these functions often rely on shared contacts or indirect actuation, which introduces strong kinematic coupling and makes performance sensitive to geometry and friction variations. This paper presents a V-shaped in-pipe robot with a joint-axis-and-wheel-separation layout that provides two physically independent actuation channels, with all-wheel-drive propulsion and motorized rolling reorientation while using only two motors. To make the decoupling mechanism explicit and designable, we formulate an actuation transmission matrix and identify the spherical-wheel contact angle as the key geometric variable governing the dominant roll-to-propulsion leakage and roll-channel efficiency. A geometric transmission analysis maps mounting parameters to the contact angle, leakage, and efficiency, yielding a structural guideline for suppressing crosstalk by driving the contact angle toward zero. A static stability model further provides a stability-domain map for selecting torsion-spring stiffness under friction uncertainty to ensure vertical-pipe stability with a margin. Experiments validate the decoupling effect, where during high-dynamic rolling in a vertical pipe, the propulsion torque remains nearly invariant. On a multi-material testbed including out-of-plane double elbows, the robot achieved a 100% success rate in more than 10 independent round-trip trials.

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