data processing, presentation and control. I have developed a generic solution where you can enter the inspection or cleaning in advance, with smart paths. The operator works with a dashboard. This could still be implemented for the Inspection Ball". VISUAL For ultrasonic contact measurements, e.g. for wall thickness measurements, an installation must be cleaned first. Ferry continues: "In the solution that the industry is looking for, i.e. inspecting during operation, this is of course not possible. So we work with visual inspection by cameras. You can also use AI, so the robot recognises what and where the corrosion. We continue to work on this intelligence, recognising all kinds of damage mechanisms in a tank. So the robot 'looks' outside. This is best done from a scratch-free housing, in a clear liquid. It is now possible to move around in it and measure well. And we know that the ball can withstand temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius and pressures up to 4 bar. That's how far we have come in the Smart Tooling project. 21 SWARM "A vision of the future, which will certainly come true, is to send a swarm of these inspection balls into a pipe, tank or pressure vessel. They move in the same direction, bundle all their information and can thus offer reliable measurement results. The best methods for mutual communication, localisation, data collection and analysis are issues that we need to address further. But it's possible, it's just a matter of time". "There is now a prototype that cannot yet be used in industry, so further development is needed. We have done our best to make optimal use of Smart Tooling and will definitely continue with the Inspection Ball. So thanks to this project, the processing industry will be able to count on a robot in the future that provides information about corrosion under the toughest conditions, without having to take a factory out of operation. Together with the other parties, with Dow and BASF, we are also going to look at how something works in practice, for example in a steam pipe, with condensate and chemical oils. To be continued", says Ferry van der Valk.
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