Robot Would Inspect Hanging Cables

A proposed automated apparatus would travel along a hanging cable, optically inspecting it all around. The proposal was made to eliminate lowering human inspectors in baskets along emergency-egress slidewires at Kennedy Space Center launch pads. The apparatus would include a motor drive system, a video camera configured with mirrors for a 360° view of the cable, a data-capturing system, a laser micrometer, a video transmitter, and a radio transceiver for command and data signals. The apparatus would be placed on a cable at one end, then the inspection process would be initiated. During the process, the apparatus would operate under the control of a compact, rugged, onboard computer. Upon reaching the far end of the cable, the apparatus would automatically reverse itself and return to the starting end. An electronic neural network could be used, either on board the apparatus or in the command station, to analyze the inspection data to determine the integrity of the cable.