Design of an interactive pipeline inspection VR system

Abstract

AbstractPipeline inspection is a costly and necessary task for oil producing companies. Moreover, it requires very specialized equipment and specific knowhow to analyze the results of the inspection. In this article, we present a novel interactive pipeline inspection system that could be used to educate students and engineers about the process. A motion simulator is built and used in conjunction with a virtual reality (VR) environment that will allow the operator feel as if s/he is inside the pipe and recognize the various types of defects that might be encountered. A haptic interface device is used in the setup which will alert the operator about the presence of a defect. The control scheme for the simulator uses the change in velocity and acceleration that the operator imposes on the joystick, the environmental changes imposed on the motion simulator, and the haptic feedback to the operator to maneuver the simulator in the real environment. The stability of the closed‐loop system is analyzed based on the Nyquist stability criteria. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 19: 814–825, 2011