Sensorized robotic sphere for large exterior critical infrastructures supervision

Abstract

The surveillance and inspection tasks in large exterior critical infrastructures have arisen as critical processes. More complex challenges are now present, and the traditional approaches are sometimes obsolete for facing these new menaces. An alternative system—a mobile sensor, spherical shaped—that provides a flexible, versatile, and reliable way to perform measurements is proposed. Even more, thanks to its original traction method (based on center of gravity destabilization), the system has a result as an all-terrain vehicle that guarantees a safe and friendly interaction with the environment. It has been widely tested, verifying as well the accurate acquisition performance, resulting in this system as a suitable sensing and monitoring alternative.