Spherical ultrasonic motor drive system for camera orientation in pipe inspection

We propose a camera actuating system using a spherical ultrasonic motor for inspection of the inside wall of a small pipe. The spherical ultrasonic motor has advantages that include three degrees of freedom, high responsiveness and high accuracy all within a compact body. We describe here the development of an outer rotor spherical ultrasonic motor (OR-SUSM) that enables a camera to rotate by more than 360° along the side of the pipe. All components, including the OR-SUSM, the sensing system, and the electric circuits, are designed to be assembled in the pipe inspection device with outer diameter of 52 mm. To control the system, the phase difference and frequency of the applied voltages are used. The rotational direction is determined by the phase difference and the angular velocity is controlled by the frequency. The completed system can be controlled to within 2° in an experimental pipe inspection test.