Published on: 2026-09-17
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Today we talk about the team of the project “Research on the possibility of increasing the productivity of an in-pipe robotic diagnostic complex when inspecting long sections of gas pipeline.” It is supported by the “Priority 2030” program. The leader is Associate Professor of the Higher School of Automation and Robotics, Director of the Research Center for Robotics and Mechatronics, Oleg Shmakov.
The idea for the project came thanks to a qualified client — the company LLC “ENTE.” It was our colleagues who formulated a very ambitious engineering task for us: to create a robot that could move inside a main pipeline over a distance of up to 60 kilometers and perform the necessary technological operations there.
This is a good example of how a real industrial task first turns into a scientific one, then into an engineering one, and finally becomes a specific technology and product.
The project is designed to create a robotic complex that can traverse a pipeline over a long distance and perform its diagnostics autonomously.
This year, the team is working on creating a prototype of such a system at a 1:3 scale. They are also currently searching for ways to overcome various obstacles encountered in the pipeline — such as water, horseflies, steep inclines, and temperature conditions.
Participation in the “Priority 2030” program for the project team is an opportunity to go from the laboratory to industry: laboratory development, prototype, testing, and then real implementation. It is this sequence that transforms a scientific result into technology.
The project team is formed on the basis of the Higher School of Automation and Robotics at Polytech. It includes staff members of the HSAR, graduate students, and undergraduates.
It is important for us that students get involved in real scientific and technical projects quite early. They work alongside experienced engineers and researchers and see the entire development process — from idea and calculations to the manufacturing of the robot and its testing, — emphasized the project leader Oleg Shmakov.
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