A downhole device (15) comprising: a body (10) with a bore; at least one wheel (20) or other retained component; an engagement member (40) for engaging the wheel with the body. A retaining member (31) retains the engagement member (40) in place, the retaining member (31) extending along the body (10) and in the line of the main axis of the engagement member (40) so that it abuts. Embodiments allow for more convenient and more reliable retaining of wheels or other components in the device especially reducing the need for using threaded connections, which are prone to failure.

An information processing apparatus for controlling an autonomous vehicle that travels between points includes a controller. The controller is configured to determine, based on the current time and a predetermined time, to charge, to replace, or neither to charge nor replace a battery, mounted in the autonomous vehicle, at a first point when the autonomous vehicle located at the first point is to travel by the predetermined time to a second point that is the next destination.

A mobile welding system that does not rely exclusively on a track to define the path of the welder. One embodiment includes a mobile welder adapted to move along a work piece. The mobile welder includes a chassis, including a welding implement, and a travel assembly configured to support the chassis over a portion of the work piece. The mobile welder also includes a motor assembly configured to selectively cause the chassis to move relative to the work piece. The mobile welder further includes a chassis holder, having a magnet assembly, configured to provide a force holding the chassis a selected distance from the work piece. The magnet assembly includes a magnet rotatably mounted between a ferrous material and a non-ferrous material to selectively control application of a magnetic field toward the work piece.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) autonomously perching on a curved surface from a starting position is provided. The UAV includes: a 3D depth camera configured to capture and output 3D point clouds of scenes from the UAV including the curved surface; a 2D LIDAR system configured to capture and output 2D slices of the scenes; and a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to: control the depth camera and the LIDAR system to capture the 3D point clouds and the 2D slices, respectively, of the scenes; input the captured 3D point clouds from the depth camera and the captured 2D slices from the LIDAR system; autonomously detect and localize the curved surface using the captured 3D point clouds and 2D slices; and autonomously direct the UAV from the starting position to a landing position on the curved surface based on the autonomous detection and localization of the curved surface.

Robotic devices that can be utilized on pipes of any material and of a variety of pipe diameters are provided. The robotic device utilizes a ducted fan to create the normal forces needed to adhere to any part of a pipe. The chassis of the device can be segmented to allow for application on various diameter pipes.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for landing and perching on a curved ferromagnetic surface is provided. The UAV includes a plurality of articulated legs. Each articulated leg includes: a magnet configured to magnetically attach to the curved ferromagnetic surface; and a magnetic foot for housing the magnet and configured to magnetically articulate towards and attach to the curved ferromagnetic surface using the magnet in a perpendicular orientation with respect to the curved ferromagnetic surface, in response to the UAV approaching the curved ferromagnetic surface, in order to land the UAV on the curved ferromagnetic surface and for the UAV to perch on the curved ferromagnetic surface after the landing. The magnetic foot is configured to remain magnetically attached to the curved ferromagnetic surface while the UAV is perched on the curved ferromagnetic surface.

A robotic apparatus comprising first, second, and third wheel assemblies, and a clamping mechanism configured to apply a force for urging the second wheel and the third wheel to pivot in opposing directions towards a plane of the first wheel for securing the first wheel, the second wheel, and the third wheel to the pipe, each wheel assembly including an alignment mechanism for adjusting an orientation of the wheels to allow the robotic apparatus to move along a straight path or a helical path on the pipe. A method for navigating an obstacle on a pipe comprising advancing the robotic apparatus along a helical pathway on the pipe to position an open side of the robotic apparatus in longitudinal alignment with the obstacle, and advancing the robotic apparatus along a straight pathway on the pipe such that the obstacle passes unobstructed through the open side of the robotic apparatus.

Provided is a moving body capable of transmitting driving force of a drive unit to a spherical wheel without a separation between the spherical wheel and the drive unit even in the case where the moving body receives impact due to the road surface condition or the like. The moving body (10) is a self-sustained mobile robot. The moving body (10) includes a spherical wheel (21), a drive unit (22) which is in contact with the spherical wheel (21) to give a rotational driving force to the spherical wheel (21), a support (31) which supports the drive unit (22), and a biasing mechanism (41) which is suspended from the support (31) and abuts on the spherical wheel (21) to bias the spherical wheel (21) in a direction toward the support (31).

A device to inspect a pipeline includes a device housing, a plurality of motors, a plurality of wheels, an inertial measurement unit, and a controller. The plurality of motors is coupled to the device housing. The plurality of wheels extends from the device housing. Each wheel is rotatably coupled to a respective motor. The inertial measurement unit is configured to provide a signal corresponding to an orientation of the device housing relative to the pipeline. The controller is configured to independently control operation of each motor of the plurality of motors based on the signal provided by the inertial measurement unit to maintain the device housing within a desired orientation range relative to the pipeline. Because the controller can independently control each motor of the device, the device can advance along a pipeline with minimal human intervention.

A wheel drive apparatus of an automated guide vehicle (AGV) is provided, which includes: a bogie frame; drive frames including a pair of drive wheels installed so that power is transmitted through opposite side surfaces of the bogie frame, and first auxiliary wheels opposite to second auxiliary wheels, with a gap “b” outside of each of the opposite side surfaces of the bogie frame; rotation shaft portions pivotally coupled at shaft points of each of the drive frames and the bogie frame; and connection portions in which first connection arms are respectively formed in the drive frames, and second connection arms are respectively formed in the bogie frame, and the first and second connection arms are vertically connected as a slip rod so as to move up and down at a predetermined gap “a”, and thus which does not cause the drive wheel to float in the air even if any of the auxiliary wheels or any of the drive wheels of the AGV travelling along the floor contacts a depression, a barrier and a slope. (Representative drawing: FIG. 1)