An Essential Robot Vision System for Robot Assisted Plant Disaster Prevention and Response Missions

Abstract

Routine inspections and emergency response are unavoidable needs for power plants, oil refineries, iron works, and industrial units, as they directly influence output and safety. By utilizing autonomous robots, they can be improved. With the exception of facilities located in hazardous areas, such as off-shore factories, where dispatching people might be impossible, accidents caused by human mistakes can be prevented by autonomous inspections and diagnosis of facilities (pumps, tanks, boilers, and so on). Furthermore, if any disaster or accident happens in the plant victims should get immediate assistance. Autonomous robots can enable quick emergency assistance for victims once they are detected. The primary obstacles in robot-assisted inspection operations and victim detection are identifying various types of gauges and reading them, detecting the actual victims in any lighting condition, and taking appropriate actions. This study describes a unique robot vision system for plant inspection and victim detection system that may be used to enhance the frequency of routine checks, hence minimizing equipment faults and accidents (explosions or fires caused by gas leaks) caused by human mistakes or degradation and detecting victims to provide an immediate response. This suggested system can conduct facility inspections by detecting and reading a variety of gauges and finding victims, and it issues reports if any anomalies are discovered. Furthermore, this system can respond to unforeseen anomalous events that are potentially harmful to people and execute specific activities such as valve control if necessary.