An ultrasonic penetrometer may include an enclosure, an ultrasonic sensor, and a rod. The enclosure may include a channel having a first end and a second end. The ultrasonic sensor may be provided at the first end of the channel and may be configured to generate an ultrasound signal through the second end of the channel. An output from the ultrasound sensor may be used to determine a thickness or stiffness of sediment. The rod may have a proximal end facing the ultrasonic sensor and a distal end opposite the proximal end. The rod may be configured to move relative to the enclosure. The distal end may be configured to contact the sediment. The enclosure may be configured to be fluid-tight relative to an exterior of the enclosure such that the generated ultrasound signal travels in a single medium.

A wastewater monitoring system uses a camera in a fixed location in a wastewater pipe. The camera is coupled to a sensor that measures some characteristic of material in the wastewater pipe. The sensor is programmed with one or more alarms that, when triggered, cause the sensor to wake up the camera and command the camera to take one or more photos. Sensor data, such as current time/date, location, and the characteristics of material in the wastewater pipe, is sent by the sensor to the camera, which overlays one or more photos with visible text information corresponding to the received sensor data. The sensor can wake up the camera and command the camera to turn on the camera's Wi-Fi interface, which allows a wastewater control system in a remote location to communicate directly with the camera.

A borescope includes an electronic image capture unit having two image capture sensors as a borescope lens at an end of a shaft that is designed for being inserted into a borescope opening, a position and alignment of the image capture sensors in relation to one another being suitable for ascertaining three-dimension (3D) information using triangulation; and a pattern projector configured to project a pattern into a common recording region of the image capture sensors. The pattern projector includes: a fundamentally optically imaging light-guide bundle, which is made up of statistically distributed optical fibers having differing transmittances, to whose input surface a light source is coupled and whose output surface is aligned with the region captured by the image capture sensors.

Push-cables and associated apparatus for pipe inspection systems are disclosed. In one embodiment a pipe inspection system includes a camera head, a push-cable including an outer covering enclosing a plurality of electrical conductors for transmitting signals and/or power between the camera head and an electronic device operatively coupled to the push-cable, and a spring assembly disposed about the push-cable near the distal end where the spring assembly comprises a spring with a tapered flex section having a varying cross-sectional area and/or a varying cross-sectional shape.

An imaging apparatus mountable on a moveable apparatus includes a plurality of lighting-imaging units, each configured to capture an image of a different area on an object in a direction intersecting with a movement direction of the moveable apparatus. The each of the plurality of lighting-imaging units includes a light source unit configured to illuminate a partial area on the object as a lighting area; and an image capture unit configured to capture an image of an image capture area set within the lighting area. The plurality of lighting-imaging units captures an image of a non-overlapped lighting area on the object where the lighting areas of the plurality of lighting-imaging units do not overlap with each other.

Portable pipe inspection video systems are disclosed. The system may include a camera head, a push-cable, a cable reel, and a camera controller having a built-in transmitter for energizing a pipe-inspection cable for magnetic field tracing applications.

Operational convenience is to be improved in an inspection nozzle or cleaning nozzle for operation with liquids under high pressure with a coupling section that can be connected to a high-pressure tube. A feed bore, a deflection chamber and at least one communicating bore are operatively connected to the coupling section. A camera recess running concentric to a longitudinal axis is arranged in a camera-receiving portion. A camera module is accommodated releasably connected to an encapsulated camera housing sealed water-tight. Optics and camera electronics are permanently incorporated in camera housing. Case manipulation of the camera module and the camera housing is unnecessary. This is realized in that within the camera housing, a contactless magnetically operable camera switch is arranged effectively connected to the camera electronics via a circuit board on one wall of the camera housing.

In some embodiments, a stereoscopic imaging apparatus includes a tubular housing having a bore extending longitudinally through the housing. First and second image sensors are disposed proximate a distal end of the bore, each including a light sensitive elements on a face and mounted facing laterally outward. The apparatus further includes a first beam steering element associated with the first image sensor and a second beam steering element associated with the second image sensor. The beam steering elements receive light from first and second perspective viewpoints and direct the received light onto the faces of the image sensors forming first and second images. Either the first and second beam steering elements or the first and second image sensors are moveable to cause a change a spacing between or an orientation of the perspective viewpoints to cause sufficient disparity between the first and second images to provide image data including three-dimensional information.

A probe assembly for a process vessel for viewing the inside of the vessel, the probe assembly includes an elongated bracket, an elongated frame, an ICPC unit, and a camera unit. The elongated bracket has a front face and a rear face, the elongated bracket having an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion has a first aperture. The elongated frame has a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of the elongated frame is coupled to the upper portion of the front face of the bracket. The ICPC unit includes a housing that has a front wall, a rear wall, and side wall extended between the front wall and the rear wall, the front wall has a second aperture, the rear wall has a third aperture. The ICPC unit further includes an actuator enclosed in the housing and an elongated tube operably coupled to the actuator, the tube extends through the second aperture and the first aperture away from the rear face of the bracket, the actuator configured to reciprocate the tube between an extended position and a retracted position. The camera unit includes a camera enclosure housing a camera, wherein the actuation member is configured to reciprocate the camera unit between the engage mode and stand-by mode, in the engage mode, the lens' hood is within the tube of the ICPC unit, and in the stand-by mode, the camera unit is away from the ICPC unit towards the proximal end of the elongated frame.

A device for inspecting containers which have an opening includes a transport device which transports the objects along a configured transport path. The device includes a monitoring device which is configured to monitor at least one region of an inner wall of the container through the opening. The monitoring device is configured to capture spatially resolved images, and has a lighting device configured to illuminate at least one region of the inner wall, is arranged between the monitoring device and the container.