Robotics Inspection Vehicle (RIV) and Camera Control Module

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The stator core of the rotating electric machine is made of thin laminations of magnetic steel, separated by solidinsulation to prevent axial currents. If laminations are exposed to short-circuit conditions due to the insulationfailure, the high temperatures that result due to the axial current flow can damage the stator. The insulationfailure can initially start as a partial electrical discharge which can propagate with time and result in theinsulation failure. Therefore, there is a need for regular monitoring and inspection of the insulation integritybetween each two adjacent laminations. The preferred approach is to conduct the inspection while the rotor isin place. To enable rotor-in-place inspection, IRIS Power has designed, developed and marketed a specifictechnology referred to the Robotic Inspection Vehicle (RIV) which can move in the narrow gap between therotor and the stator and also carry a small camera and light-weight transducers for inspection.The existing version of the RIV unit is near to the end of its useful life-span due to obsolescence of the originalcomponents. Furthermore, the camera and the RIV control are currently implemented as two independent unitsthat are not coordinated. The objective of this project is to redesign a control system for the RIV and thecamera to (i) address the component obsolescence, (ii) integrate the controls of the RIV and the camera in onecontrol platform, and (iii) provide full coordination between the RIV and the camera functions. The envisioned,unified, control unit will allow the desired coordination of measurement results and improvesdetection/inspection accuracy. It is expected that the added features of the new control unit and camera willaddress all issues reported by existing customers, leading to increased marketability of the improvedtechnology.