Autonomous phased array ultrasound robotic NDT of long weld lines (AWI)

船体焊接失效会造成船舶损失、生命损失和环境污染。这是通过使用超声波检查所有焊缝来防止的(根据船级社规则的要求)，这是劳动密集型的、昂贵的并且对操作员来说是危险的。该项目的目标是开发一种新的自动化机器人检测系统，该系统将爬上船舶表面，自动跟踪熔接痕，并对焊缝进行超声扫描。AWI将大幅减少32%的检查和维护时间，降低4%的造船和船舶运营成本，并提高英国造船劳动力的技能，为英国造船和无损检测/检验行业带来竞争优势。AWI的好处包括：快速、可重复和准确的焊接测试、降低的劳动力成本、更安全的工作和更低的保险成本、由于高“可用性”(正常运行时间)、性能和质量而提高的整体设备效率。该项目由NDT咨询有限公司牵头，该公司是一家英国中小企业检测服务提供商，将为英国和全球航运业开发新的机器人检测服务。供应链财团还包括将AWI机器人商业化的中小企业机器人制造商InnotecUK Ltd.。

Failure of ship-hull welds can result in loss of vessels, loss of life and pollution of the environment. This is prevented by inspecting all welds with ultrasound (as required by Classification Society rules) which is labour-intensive, expensive and hazardous to operators. The aim of this project is to develop a new, automated robotic inspection system that will climb ship surfaces, autonomously tracking the weld lines, ultrasonically scanning the weld. AWI will dramatically reduce inspection and maintenance times by 32%, reduce shipbuilding and ship operating costs by 4%, and upskill the UK shipbuilding workforce, bringing a competitive edge to the UK shipbuilding and non-destructive testing / inspection industry. AWI benefits include: fast reproducible and accurate weld testing, reduced labour costs, safer working and lower insurance costs, higher overall equipment effectiveness due to high ‘availability’ (uptime), performance and quality. The project is led by NDT Consultants Ltd., a UK SME inspection services provider who will develop new robotic inspection services for the UK and global shipping industries. The supply-chain consortium also includes InnotecUK Ltd., an SME robotics manufacturer who will commercialise the AWI robot.