Soft robot

Engineers in South Korea have developed a soft robot that can move inside pipelines, detect damage, and help prevent serious accidents.

Unlike traditional rigid mechanisms, this robot is made of flexible materials. Because of this, it can bend around turns, pass through narrow sections of pipe, and navigate complex branches without getting stuck inside the system.

While moving through the pipeline, the robot uses special sensors that help detect cracks, damage, and potential leak points. This technology is especially important for old underground utilities, where huge volumes of water and gas are lost each year, and human access is practically impossible.

The development is being carried out by researchers from Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea. According to specialists, such devices could greatly simplify pipeline diagnostics in the future and reduce the risk of accidents in urban infrastructure networks.

Perhaps one day these small flexible robots will operate beneath the streets of our cities, silently checking pipe conditions and preventing problems before they become serious.

Source: Park et al., Biomimetics, 2024; Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea.

I think robots will be much more expensive. Since sealing a crack will simply transfer the load to the material nearby. 

Because one of the sections will differ in stiffness and density. And that is most likely a different coefficient of expansion. 

So this cannot be considered a full repair.