---
publication_id: "OT-2026-000002196"
title: "Robot provided with a flexible arm that may be deployed by eversion and use thereof in confined areas"
published_at: "2026-09-15T19:11:24.083786Z"
canonical_url: "https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000002196"
categories:
  - "robotics-automation/robot-architectures"
keywords:
  - "b25j18/02"
  - "b25j18/06"
  - "b25j18/06"
  - "b25j9/104"
  - "b25j18/02"
  - "b25j18/06"
---

# Robot provided with a flexible arm that may be deployed by eversion and use thereof in confined areas

## Abstract

A robot is provided with an arm in the form of a tubular body having a sleeve ( 12 ) formed of a flexible membrane that is capable of being inflated and deployed by eversion at the distal end of the arm from the storage chamber ( 4 ) by means of a first fluid stream. This tubular sleeve ( 12 ) forms, when it is in the deployed state, a central inside sheath that can be used to house and receive a flexible tubular element carrying a payload such as a camera or a sensor or an actuator. A second fluid stream is injected between the tube and the tubular element, thereby enabling the latter to move separately from the tube. Cables or wires ( 22 a, 22 c ), arranged in peripheral sheaths of the sleeve ( 12 ), guide and orient the movement of the arm. Such an arrangement is configured for inspection of straight or bent pipes such as pipes in a confined environment or for the transport of payloads in pipes, in particular in an industrial, sanitary, nuclear or marine environment, or in aggressive or hazardous conditions.