JetSnake Inspecting Tunnel TBMs
OC Robotics’ JetSnake flexible snake arm is being used with a water jet and camera to inspect tunnel boring machines, offering a safer alternative to human entry for tight, hazardous spaces. The deployment highlights modular robotic tools being adopted for industrial inspection and maintenance. (x.com)
OC Robotics supplied a JetSnake to Bouygues Travaux Publics for work on the Port of Miami tunnel TBM, a field deployment first trialed on-site in 2013. (pdf.directindustry.com) Project documentation records the TBM environment in Miami at roughly 3.5 bar ambient pressure, about 50°C with near-100% humidity, and warns future tunnel segments could see pressures up to ~12 bar that make human entry extremely costly. (pdf.directindustry.com) Later JetSnake engineering updates raised operational capability to withstand higher working pressures (reported up to 5 bar) and improved integration with TBM interfaces to shorten installation and maintenance cycles. (roboticsupdate.com) OC Robotics’ Series II X125 variant lists a ~2.2 m flexible arm, cumulative bend beyond 225°, and an increased payload capacity (~6 kg) to accommodate toolheads such as cleaning jets, cameras and other end-effectors. (pdf.directindustry.com) Technical reports note the TBM sensor suite added laser profilometry for disk-wear measurement alongside camera-and-light monitoring to quantify cutterhead condition during interventions. (sepac.com) Following the Miami trials, a JetSnake system was delivered and commissioned for the Dragages/Bouygues joint venture on the Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link (TMCLK) TBM programme in Hong Kong. (roboticsupdate.com) OC Robotics, a Bristol-based snake-arm specialist founded in the late 1990s, was acquired by GE Aviation (now GE Aerospace) in 2017, giving the JetSnake lineage industrial backing from a larger aerospace/engineering group. (engineeringdesigner.co.uk)
