Developing a miniature robot to install a nervous system within non-man entry sewers

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"Sewer flooding in your home is one of the worst things to experience, costing owners and UK wastewater companies tens of millions of pounds each year. Blockages, which are one cause of sewer flooding, mainly occur in small non-man entry sewers with an internal diameter of less than 600mm.nuron has developed a unique fibre sensing technology that will provide a step-change for home owners and wastewater network operators alike. nuron fibre sensing technology has a unique containment system designed to be installed along the wall of a sewer network creating a nervous system for sewers so blockages, flooding and other environmental incidents can be predicted and prevented before they happen.The sewer environment itself represents a challenge to the installation of a monitoring system. It is confined and over and above the normal sewerage and fats, oils and greases, the gas that builds up in these small diameter sewers is a complex mixture of toxic and nontoxic gases produced by the decomposition of organic household or industrial waste with the potential to create fire or explosions.This project is focused on the design and development of a miniature robot for the installation of the nuron fibre sensing containment system in small non-man entry sewers of 225-600mm internal diameter, because there is currently no existing robot or other technique available on the market with the capability of installing our sensing technology within such a confined and inhospitable space.Our objective is to work with the industry leaders in sewer rehabilitation, TC Mechanical to design and develop a first of its kind robot that will give wastewater operators access to nuron technology across their entire sewer network, enabling characterisation and inspection, and the capability of localisation and mapping of issues in this critical infrastructure."