According to the water sector economic regulator Ofwat, every day, about three billion liters of water are lost due to leaks in hundreds of thousands of kilometers of water pipe in England and Wales.
Engineers have now created microscopic robots that can patrol the pipe network, look for defects and prevent spills.
They claim that without automation, it will be “impossible” to maintain the network.
However, a recent Ofwat report showed a shortage of investment by water corporations.
It singled out some for “letting down customers and the environment” by failing to invest adequately in reforms.
Water UK reacted by saying that leakage was at “its lowest level since privatization”.
According to Water UK, three companies – South East Water, South West Water, and Yorkshire Water – are still enforcing localized hosepipe bans as a result of the summer drought.
In addition, amid the cost-of-living crisis, Ofwat estimates that 20% of consumers in England and Wales are unable to pay their water bills.
According to Ofwat, companies have decreased leakage by an average of 6% in the last year.
Pipe patrol robots
Some companies already deploy tethered robots to inspect difficult pipes.
However, the majority of the network is currently unreachable without digging.
This is where artificially intelligent, much smaller devices come in.
Pipebots are mobile robots that have cameras for eyes and all-terrain legs.
They are being created in partnership with the water sector to patrol pipes and detect cracks and flaws before they become leaks.
Prof Netta Cohen of the University of Leeds, an artificial intelligence researcher, believes that communication is the most difficult task for pipe boots.
“There are no GPS signals underground. As a result, they will communicate across short distances (through sound or wifi).”
Prof Cohen claims that the water pipes beneath our feet are among the most hostile ecosystems on the planet. “Without robotics, we can’t do this.”
The ICAIR team anticipates that the first pipe boots will patrol the water network within five years.
Until then, whenever a leak occurs, water companies will have to crawl around the complexity of sewer pipes, gas supplies, and cables to repair it.
Source: BBC
