--- title: "Surveillance Robots Could Help Maintain Sewer Systems" description: "Researchers at Aalborg University in Denmark are proposing to use AI robots to survey water pipes under the ground. And it could save cities millions." date: "2018-11-14" modified: "2018-11-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/surveillance-robots-maintain-sewer-systems" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "machine learning" - "robots" - "the digest" --- # Surveillance Robots Could Help Maintain Sewer Systems ![Researchers at Aalborg University in Denmark are proposing to use AI robots to survey water pipes under the ground. And it could save cities millions.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Dirty Jobs Maintaining sewer systems is difficult and expensive. Water pipes must be examined for wear and tear regularly, and that means paying inspectors on a regular basis to examine many miles of sewers using small cameras at the ends of long, flexible rods. Now, researchers at Aalborg University in Denmark say they've [invented a futuristic way]() to save cities hundreds of millions of dollars. They propose using surveillance robots to roam complex underground systems of pipes to check if any of them are in need of replacing. ## Robot Sewer Rats To aid the robots, researchers are hoping to harness the power of machine learning. These algorithms can help the robot's sensors find irregularities in the pipes. Once a robot has identified a pipe that needs to be replaced or fixed, it can pass that information on to human inspectors. That means the costs of paying inspectors is greatly reduced, since they only have to intervene if they really have to. ## Somebody Call Elon A lot of testing still has to be done to see if this kind of thing could actually work on a large scale. But companies like [TinyMobileRobots]() are already working on small, remote controlled surveyor robots that could give researchers a leg up. The Danish researchers are hoping this kind of innovation could also actually *make* cities money by exporting the tech to other places around the world. Maybe they should pitch the idea to Elon Musk. He's [really into digging tunnels]() right now. READ MORE: [Robots in sewers will save society millions]() More on digging tunnels: [Elon Musk: First Boring Company Tunnel Will Open December 10]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()