Pardon Me, But There's a Drone In My Drain

By Billy Aldridge

During the past few months I have told all of you about the hi-tech revolution coming soon to a kitchen and/or bathroom near you.  I have regaled you with everything from the latest in singing shower heads and computerized commodes, to refrigerators and washing machines that are wifi equipped.  So I guess it should come as no surprise that technological wizardry is on the horizon that could well change the way in which plumbers perform repairs.

English: Man using a ground penetrating radar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hi-tech plumbing tools are nothing new.  Plumbers, including yours truly, have been using everything from flexible fiberoptic viewing systems and electromagnetic line locators, to bionic ears and ground penetrating 

radar for a number of years.  While most of these devices are useful in locating hidden pipes and leaks, they still need a human being to work the controls.  The next generation of tech tools will not only be able to go where no plumber has gone before, but there is a high probability that they will not only be autonomously controlled, but they will be able to perform the repair without any assistance from the operator.

What I am referring to are roboplumbers, or more precisely robots that can worm their way down the drain in order to locate and repair plumbing.  Any of you who watch the evening news has seen Unmanned Aerial Vehicles such as the Air Force’s Predator Drone.  Tasked with surveillance in far off places as Afghanistan, UAV’s such as the Predator fly the unfriendly skies of the middle east while their operators are located in places such as Las Vegas.  What many people do not know is the fact that the military has a number of other UAV’s that are autonomously piloted, meaning that they are programmed to fulfill their mission without human input of any kind. 

Rethink Robotics — Brooks and Baxter (Photo credit: jurvetson)

Another item that most of the populace is unaware is the fact that there are hundreds of drone manufacturers  out there, some of whom are busy creating autonomous robots for the masses that clean, assemble and perform specialized tasks.  Also, these robots are not limited to flying.  Some roll, others walk and several swim or slink.  One such robot manufactured by Rethink Robotics named Baxter, is designed to perform all kinds of repetitive production tasks.  Another is an articulated robot named Pipe Snake.

“A team of U.S. Air Force Academy graduates has designed the Pipe Snake, a telescoping robot that can climb vertical plumbing shafts and even navigate curved pipes to locate victims of natural disasters. The Pipe Snake can carry medical supplies or other payloads, giving victims in inaccessible places a shot at immediate attention while first responders figure out what to do next.” 

Sooner or later the same minds that designed Baxter and the Pipe Snake are bound to put their heads together in order to come up with a device that can not only snake its way down the drain but perform repetitive tasks once it arrives.  Whether this means that plumbers will have another tech tool to work in hard to reach places, or whether the robots will try to muscle us out of the business is anybody’s guess.  All I know is I dread the day I pick up the phone only to hear the homeowner on the other end of the line tell me, “I’ve got a drone stuck in my drain.”

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  For more helpful plumbing tips and how-to videos, go to 

http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com