Tunnels and underground infrastructure
Underground facilities are the application with the clearest benefit – because manual walk-throughs are most laborious here.
A walk-through in a cable tunnel regularly means: opening the access, gas-free measurement of the atmosphere, securing the site, a two-person walk, documentation, dismantling. For a visual inspection that takes one hour, half a day with two people is spent. It is precisely this ratio that makes robot deployment economical, even at a low inspection frequency.
Inspection tasks in cable tunnels and utility tunnels: thermal checking of cables and in particular joints, detection of water ingress and standing water, condition of brackets and cable routes, checking the drainage, visual inspection for unauthorised installations and fire loads, functional check of the lighting.
In traffic tunnels, the operational equipment is added: emergency call niches, fire extinguishing equipment, signage, drainage channels, condition of the road surface and the tunnel wall. Operation here is tied to closure periods.
The atmospheric conditions must also be clarified. Where oxygen deficiency is to be expected, gas sensors belong in the payload – as preliminary reconnaissance before staff enter an area.
Further reading: Explosion protection and mobile robotics covers determining zone boundaries in detail; the guide for operators the requirements at the site.
Change log (1)
- 5 October 2026 Initial publication First publication of the English version.
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These articles are available in German.
- Kabeltunnel und Trassen – wo der Robotereinsatz trägt und wo der Zugang entscheidet
- LiDAR und SLAM – wie sich ein System ohne Satellitensignal orientiert
- Cost-effectiveness of inspection robots – purchase, leasing or Robot-as-a-Service
- Explosion protection and mobile robotics – recognising zones, determining limits
- Inspection robots – a guide for operators