Power from motion and vibrations
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 09:42
in Astronomy & Space
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which traverses hundreds of miles of some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, must be monitored almost constantly for potential problems like corrosion or cracking. Humans do some of this work -- surveying the pipeline from the air and inspecting it more closely in the areas that can be easily accessed by roads -- but the bulk of it is done by mechanical `pigs,` sensor-laden robots that travel inside the pipeline looking for flaws.