Tiny robots developed to help fix leaky water pipes

Engineers in the UK have developed micro-robots — called Pipebots — that can inspect water pipes, diagnose cracks and fix them autonomously that will help in reducing leaks, avoiding expensive excavation work and save time.

Currently, the only way to pinpoint the flaw is by humans digging and locating a leak in the maze of pipes, which can take days of searching, resulting in high costs and road closures that affect businesses and residents nearby.

In order to address this problem, researchers from the University of Sheffield‘s School of…