A remote-controlled buggy fitted with a 360-degree camera that provides a glimpse into what lies beneath the state’s road network could revolutionise culvert inspections.
Pipe Crawler is being trialled at 10 Transport for NSW road depots around the state, including Bomaderry, helping maintenance crews inspect the culverts under roads faster and more safely and effectively than current methods.
Across Transport for NSW’s state road network there are around 100,000 culverts and other drainage structures that channel water underneath a road or embankment.
Culverts should be regularly inspected for damage, and repairs carried out, to ensure the condition of the road base.
The 12-month proof of concept trial of Pipe Crawler will help Transport improve its understanding of the condition of these assets, supporting safer and more targeted maintenance planning.
Pipe Crawler offers a view within the confined space of a culvert, and a wealth of quality data about its condition, all from a safe distance behind the buggy’s remote controls.
Transport Secretary Josh Murray said 10 Pipe Crawler buggies are now being trialled around NSW and road maintenance crews are being trained to use them.
“So far the feedback from the teams has been really positive and they enjoy using these buggies as they’re simple to manoeuvre and are providing excellent imagery from all angles inside the culvert,” Mr Murray said
“We can put them in a culvert, do a full inspection and upload it so that anyone around the state in our network can view that material at any time, and check what data it’s showing us about the condition of these vital road drainage and inspection points.
“Our engineers can safely and effectively access fully digitised, high-resolution images of a culvert and schedule works around that.
“Not only are there safety benefits for our maintenance teams, who can see into inaccessible culverts remotely, but the data collected will help us identify any issues sooner and more accurately, so critical culvert repairs can be prioritised,” he said.
“With more than 20,000 kilometres of state managed roads to maintain, we are always looking to drive innovation and find greater efficiencies, ultimately to ensure the safety, reliability and connectivity for residents, business and freight operators.”
Pipe Crawler is the brainchild of Transport Asset Area Manager Matt Hellyer who said his enthusiasm for radio controlled aircraft led him to see the potential for remote controlled machines to innovate the way culvert inspections are done.
“The components of this innovation are relatively low cost, durable and easy to use – an off the shelf remote controlled buggy with a 360-degree action camera and lighting mounted on top,” Mr Hellyer said.
“Images from the camera are uploaded to an app which displays imagery through the culverts in a ‘street view’ style platform. The corridor planning team use this to assign a risk rating to each culvert and allocate repairs accordingly,” Mr Hellyer explained.
“Transport has a fantastic history of innovation and building our own kit that then goes into serving the public through our road network and this simple but ingenious idea is the latest in that innovation,” Mr Murray said.
