Precise Air Sealing Robot for Inaccessible Spaces (PARIS)
Unstructured environments such as attics, crawl spaces, and other confined areas present significant challenges for inspection due to restricted access, uneven terrain, and limited visibility. Identifying defects like cracks, insulation gaps, and structural irregularities in these areas is essential for maintaining energy efficiency, structural integrity, and overall safety. Traditional inspection methods, which rely heavily on manual labor, can be time-consuming, unsafe, and prone to human error, especially in such inaccessible spaces.
To address this challenge, the Precise Air Sealing Robot for Inaccessible Spaces (PARIS) is being developed. PARIS is a quadruped robot designed to autonomously navigate and inspect unstructured and confined environments with precision and efficiency.
Project Goals
- Navigation in Unstructured Environments: Develop a robust navigation stack using ROS 2 for quadruped robots to traverse uneven surfaces, tight spaces, and cluttered areas safely and efficiently.
- Defect Detection and Mapping: Leverage a 3D LiDAR integrated with ROS 2 to perform real-time mapping and detect cracks, insulation defects, and other anomalies, providing precise localization of these issues.
- Simulation Environment Development: Create a simulation platform using ROS 2 to test and refine the robot's navigation, mapping, and inspection capabilities in a virtual environment before real-world deployment.
Technology Stack
The development of PARIS leverages cutting-edge hardware and software to ensure robust performance in challenging environments:
- Hardware: Unitree Go2 quadruped robot, Jetson Orin, MID360 LiDAR, and Intel RealSense depth camera.
- Software: ROS 2 Foxy for modularity and real-time capabilities, ROS Noetic for legacy integration, Gazebo for simulation, and IsaacSim for high-fidelity virtual testing and data generation.
This technology stack provides seamless integration of navigation, perception, and control systems, ensuring precise operation in unstructured and confined environments.
Significance
PARIS aims to revolutionize inspection processes in inaccessible spaces by minimizing human involvement in hazardous conditions, enhancing the accuracy of defect detection, and increasing the efficiency of maintenance workflows. The use of ROS 2 ensures cutting-edge functionality and paves the way for reliable autonomous operations in challenging environments.