Fall / Automne 2017 23 to exercise the making of robots as opposed to dealing only with theory of robots. In the 80s this approach at the University was a first of its kind. As a result, and although I was a full- time Professor, I interacted exten- sively with the industry, and suc- ceeded in securing funding for real- life robotic developments with North- ern Telecom, Ontario Hydro, IBM Canada and some smaller companies. It forced me to hire design engineer- ing staff in my laboratory to provide the design infrastructure that could not be accomplished with graduate students. Further on, to expand the scope of these activities and legally separate them from the University, I founded and became the President of Engineering Services Inc. (ESI)—a high-technology company involved in the development of robotics-based automation. Under my leadership, the company has achieved significant growth and a global leading role in a wide range of industrial sectors. In 2000, the company business in robotics for biotechnology was acquired by an Ontario-based publicly-listed (TSE) company. From 2000-2001 I was also the president of Virtek Engin- eering Science Inc. (VESI), a high- technology company formed after the acquisition of part of ESI. In 2006, I also founded (and became president of ) Anviv Mechatronics Inc. (AMI) a high-technology com- pany involved in the development of mechatronics products. The acquisi- tion in 2000 had provided the means for complete early retirement; I did not follow through because of the love of the profession and my per- sonal attachment to the field of robotics. With the increase in my business activities, it became quite challen- ging to concurrently devote the time to my duties at the UofT that I felt was required. The departmental chairman had provided great support, but in the end, I opted for early retire- ment. It had been very rewarding, and I left knowing that I had put the school on the map and created a new field (robotics) in the University. The fundamental roles of universi- ties in terms of basic research versus applied research and how well it prepares students at the graduate ...Continued on page 24 After loading, the unit starts operating by pressing a set of disks onto the sides of the tire to enclose its inner cavity. Then a foldable robot arm that was stowed inside one of the disks gets deployed internally. The robot arm carries a manifold of ultrasonic sensors that have three segments. The segments get deployed in such a way that the center segment faces the inner side of the tire tread, and the two other face the inner sides of the tire. The manifold positions itself at a suitable distance from the internal surface of the tire to enable ultrasonic waves to penetrate and reach the receivers that are connected on an external manifold mounted on the other robot arm external to the tire. Emitters and receivers are automatically aligned for maximum efficiency. The operation of the ultrasonic sensors, including the positioning and alignment is fully automatic. After both the emitters and receivers were positioned accurately, the tire starts rotating at a pre-determined speed to perform the inspection. pipe until a desired joint is reached, and drills a hole into the joint spigot at the highest point. Then anaerobic sealant is injected into the jute pack- ing to re-seal the joint. This approach replicates the repair procedure cur- rently done externally. The sealant flows under gravity and saturates the jute. The operation is done while the main is kept in service. The internal sealing system can seal several joints from a single excavation while keeping the main in service. The system has been designed for 6” (15 cm) diameter pipes. It can be inserted into the main up to 150’ (over 45 meters) in each direction from the entry point. Up to 24 joints can therefore be sealed from a single excavation. Adap- tation of the concept to larger pipe diameters (up to 36”) has also been performed using a different methodol- ogy of moving inside the pipe. The joint sealing system consists of a small robotic working head equipped with a video camera for search and joint identification, an umbilical cable, cable insertion unit, system storage reel with the tool control components, and an operator’s station that includes a control panel and video monitor. In operation, the robot head is inserted into the main through a small tap, and pushed along the pipe by its motorized umbilical cable. The operator visually locates the desired joint, and pos- itions the robot at the joint. The robot head is then raised into drilling pos- ition, and a small hole is drilled through the spigot into the joint cavity. Then, the sealant head is rotated into position, and a measured amount of sealant is injected into the joint. The head is retrieved, and the unit is then moved to the next joint. The robotic tool head is inserted through a small tap using a custom- designed saddle. Semi-rigid umbilical cable is used to push and control the tool head position. The umbilical cable is stored on a custom- designed reel. A mini- ature video camera mounted on the tool head is used to locate each joint for sealing. The operator’s station is provided with a control panel and video monitor, allowing remote control of the tool head for drilling and sealant injection. ■ ROBOT FOR INTER- NAL OPERATIONS IN UNDERGROUND GAS PIPES Underground cast iron gas pipes are made from 12’ long sections connect- ed by bell-and-spigot joints. A joint is generally filled with jute packing and sealed with lead. The joint can develop leaks over time and must be repaired. One of the most frequent repair procedures is to inject an anaerobic sealant into the jute pack- ing. This procedure requires a 4’ x 6’ excavation at each joint to allow the utility to reach the pipe (in the north- east US and Canada the pipes are 8’ deep in the ground), drill a hole through the bell into the jute and inject a measured quantity of anaer- obic sealant. Such a process is haz- ardous, laborious and costly, and it interferes with transportation and pedestrians in urban areas. To alleviate the above problems a novel technique was developed to perform cast iron bell and spigot joint sealing from inside the pipe using a remotely controlled robot. The robot is launched into the pipe through a special opening, travels inside the through a small designed saddle. cable is used to tool head po cable is desi atu mo he each operator’s with a control pan allowing remote View of the gas pipe robot end-effector View of internal and external robot arms carrying ultrasonic sensors General view of the tire grading system Fall / Automne 2017 23 ...Continued from page 21