A charging device 10 of a circulating-water utilization system 1 to be constructed in a specific area includes: a wastewater amount measuring unit 18a configured to individually measure an amount of wastewater discharged from each of water consuming members; a water-quality measuring unit 18b configured to individually measure a water-quality index related to a water quality of the wastewater discharged from each of the water consuming members; and a circulating-water fee calculating part 10A configured to calculate a circulating-water fee of each of the water consuming members on the basis of the amount and the water quality of the wastewater discharged from each of the water consuming members.

Provided are a device configuration, method, etc. for performing imaging investigation in an investigation space using an unmanned aerial vehicle. A system includes: a flight start platform; the vehicle which is connected to a line-type member and equipped with an investigation camera, a travel-direction imaging camera, and a vehicle-side communication unit; an external control device which is equipped with a display unit and an external control device-side communication unit, and which receives the travel-direction image data through the external control device-side communication unit, receives an input of control commands for the vehicle while having a video or still image obtained from the travel-direction image data displayed on the display unit, and transmits a signal indicating the control commands from the external control device-side communication unit; and an attraction device which is connected to the line-type member and attracts the vehicle.

Provided are a device configuration, method, etc. for performing imaging investigation in an investigation space using an unmanned aerial vehicle. A system includes: a flight start platform; the vehicle which is connected to a line-type member and equipped with an investigation camera, a travel-direction imaging camera, and a vehicle-side communication unit; an external control device which is equipped with a display unit and an external control device-side communication unit, and which receives the travel-direction image data through the external control device-side communication unit, receives an input of control commands for the vehicle while having a video or still image obtained from the travel-direction image data displayed on the display unit, and transmits a signal indicating the control commands from the external control device-side communication unit; and an attraction device which is connected to the line-type member and attracts the vehicle.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a flight control mechanism for controlling flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle by controlling collision between the vehicle and a boundary surface, an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with the mechanism, and a method for using the mechanism and the vehicle. Provided is a flight control mechanism for an unmanned aerial vehicle including: a first initial collision member; a second initial collision member; and a holding member that holds the first and second initial collision members with a space therebetween above the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle, is tiltable with respect to the vehicle body by rotating about a predetermined position inside or above the vehicle body toward the side of the vehicle body, and rotates in response to collision between the first or second initial collision member and a boundary surface.

Cable handling devices, methods and systems are provided for securing and deploying, or retracting, one or more cables or hoses into or out of a pipe or cavity allowing inspection of the pipe or cavity. The cables and/or hoses may be coupled and moved together, or decoupled enabling them to be moved independently. A hand-held device with a housing for at least partially enclosing one or more cables or hoses, at least one coupling mechanism integrally attached to the housing, and a coupling control for coupling and decoupling the one or more cables or hoses may be provided. One or more of the cables may be connected to a camera disposed at the distal end of a cable thereby facilitating inspection of the pipe or cavity. Tools such as cutting devices or a jetter may be provided at the end of the one or more cables and/or hoses.

A sewage line plug assembly is disclosed herein. The assembly comprises a plug housing having a hollow configuration. Additionally, a diaphragm plate is disposed within the plug housing including a first element disposed on the first operative end of the diaphragm plate. Furthermore, first element is configured to depress due to pressure acting thereon due to sewage build up inside a sewage line. The housing further includes a second element disposed on the inner bottom end of the housing. Additionally, the second element interacts with the first element and is configured to depress due to depression of first element. Sewage line plug assembly further includes an alarm unit coupled to second element and configured to sound an alarm on depression of second element. The alarm sound of the alarm unit is configured to sound when the pressure exceeds a pre-determined threshold value.

There is presented a gully sensor for deployment within, and detecting the presence of matter contained in, a gully. The gully sensor may be arranged to detect when the gully has become blocked, and may further be arranged to notify an external party of such an event. The gully sensor may comprise an elongate body, the body further comprising a first portion which accommodates a light source and a second portion which accommodates a light detector for detecting light emitted from the light source along a light path towards the detector. The gully sensor may further comprise a cross section that is orientated along at least a portion of the light path shaped to allow the matter to intersect at least a portion of the light path, and which joins the first and second portions via the elongate body.

There is presented a gully sensor for deployment within, and detecting the presence of matter contained in, a gully. The gully sensor may be arranged to detect when the gully has become blocked, and may further be arranged to notify an external party of such an event. The gully sensor may comprise an elongate body, the body further comprising a first portion which accommodates a light source and a second portion which accommodates a light detector for detecting light emitted from the light source along a light path towards the detector. The gully sensor may further comprise a cross section that is orientated along at least a portion of the light path shaped to allow the matter to intersect at least a portion of the light path, and which joins the first and second portions via the elongate body.

An integrated utility line system includes a plurality of integrated utility lines, each integrated utility line having an elongate body member disposed along a longitudinal axis. The elongate body member of the integrated utility lined has a first and a second utility opening defined there-through parallel to the longitudinal axis. The plurality of integrated utility lines are connected together along the longitudinal axis such that the first utility openings in the plurality of integrated utility lines are in alignment with one another, and the second utility openings in the plurality of integrated utility lines are in alignment with one another. The system further includes a plurality of seismic bearing members, and the plurality of integrated utility lines are supported at least in part by the plurality of seismic bearing members.

One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for detecting the presence or formation of a blockage in a sewer system using a machine learning (ML) model. The ML model may be trained using a supervised learning method; and may be used to analyze various inputs from a sewer system to automatically sense developing sewer blockages. The systems and techniques described herein may also indicate the type of blockage that is forming, such as silt accumulation; sediment buildup; ragging; root intrusion; fats, oils, and grease (FOG), etc.) prior to a full blockage to allow preventative cleaning operations.