Use-Inspired Mobile Robot to Improve Safety of Building Retrofit Workforce in Constrained Spaces

TL;DR

This paper presents PARIS, a teleoperated mobile robot designed to safely and effectively inspect and remediate confined, hazardous spaces in building infrastructure, enhancing safety and thermal efficiency.

Contribution

Introduction of a novel use-inspired robot platform, PARIS, for inspection and remediation in constrained spaces, supported by teleoperation, mapping, sensing, and targeted treatment capabilities.

Findings

Successfully tested in real confined spaces

Enhanced safety for human operators

Improved thermal efficiency through targeted sealing

Abstract

The inspection of confined critical infrastructure such as attics or crawlspaces is challenging for human operators due to insufficient task space, limited visibility, and the presence of hazardous materials. This paper introduces a prototype of PARIS (Precision Application Robot for Inaccessible Spaces): a use-inspired teleoperated mobile robot manipulator system that was conceived, developed, and tested for and selected as a Phase I winner of the U.S. Department of Energy's E-ROBOT Prize. To improve the thermal efficiency of buildings, the PARIS platform supports: 1) teleoperated mapping and navigation, enabling the human operator to explore compact spaces; 2) inspection and sensing, facilitating the identification and localization of under-insulated areas; and 3) air-sealing targeted gaps and cracks through which thermal energy is lost. The resulting versatile platform can also be tailored for targeted application of treatments and remediation in constrained spaces.