Weld Seam Recognition and Tracking With Omnidirectional Wall-Climbing Robot for Spherical Tank Inspection

Abstract Weld seams of in-service pressure storage equipment, such as spherical tanks, require regular inspection to ensure safe operation. Wall-climbing robots can replace manual operations, increasing inspection efficiency and reducing maintenance costs. High precision and fast weld seam identification and tracking are beneficial for improving the automated navigation and spatial positioning of wall-climbing robots. This study proposes a weld seam recognition and tracking method with the omnidirectional wall-climbing robot for spherical tank inspection. Based on deep learning networks, the robot has a front-mounted camera to recognize weld seams and extract weld paths. Weld seam deviation data (drift angle and offset distance) were used in real time to provide feedback on the robot's relative position. For the robot to quickly correct deviations and track weld seams, a seam path-tracking controller based on sliding mode control was designed and simulated. Weld recognition experiments revealed that the robot can accurately recognize and extract weld paths, and the recognition time for each image was approximately 0.25 s. In the weld seam tracking experiments, the robot could successfully track longitudinal and transverse weld seams at different speeds (from 0.05 to 0.2 m/s). During the process of weld seam tracking, the robot angle error was kept within ±3 deg, and the maximum offset distance was less than ±35 mm. Field tests on a 3000-m3 spherical tank were conducted to verify the practicability and effectiveness of the weld seam tracking system. This robotic system can autonomously complete weld seam identification and tracking, which promotes the automation of spherical tank inspection and maintenance.