Pipeon kick off meeting
The Pipebots team at the University of Sheffield had the pleasure of hosting the PIPEON Kick-off Meeting, which took place at ICAIR on Wednesday, 22nd, and Thursday, 23rd January 2025.
PIPEON: Robotics and AI for Sewer Pipe Inspection and Maintenance is a four-year, €8M research and development project funded by the European Union and led by Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). The consortium consists of 12 partners, including the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the University of Sheffield, and several innovative European technology companies and water utilities. This ambitious project aims to develop new robotic and AI-based technologies for mapping, monitoring, and maintaining Europe’s sewer networks using autonomous robots and AI-driven modelling and analysis tools.
Members of the Pipebots team are actively contributing to this exciting new project. Prof. Kirill Horoshenkov is leading research on sensors and AI for perception, Prof. Lyudmila Mihaylova is leading AI for risk-aware mapping and planning and Prof. Simon Tait is coordinating testing, demonstration, and validation of integrated robotic platforms and sensors at ICAIR.
The kick-off meeting at ICAIR brought together 35 partners from across Europe. The event began with introductions from project leader Prof. Maarja Kruusmaa, who welcomed consortium members and provided an overview of the project. EU Project Officer Stefano Foglietta also joined virtually to introduce himself and his role to the consortium. The first day of the meeting featured workshops and discussion sessions, while the second day focused on technical discussions and a tour of ICAIR’s facilities.
The PIPEON team had a highly productive two-day meeting filled with discussions and planning for this exciting new project. The Pipebots team is thrilled to be part of Pipeon and looks forward to contributing to its success.
For more information about Pipeon, please visit the website: https://pipeon.eu/
