Why We Developed a 360° Pipe Inspection System
When a 96-inch interceptor pipe fails, it is not just a maintenance headache. It is a catastrophic event. These massive underground arteries are among the most critical components of a city’s infrastructure, yet they are often the least understood. Because they often carry large volumes of flow, are dangerous to enter, and difficult to access, many municipalities are forced to play a high-stakes game of reactive maintenance. “This is a big need,” says Ron, CCTV Market Lead. “A lot of municipalities don’t look at their large diameter interceptors on a regular basis because they’re very difficult to inspect.”
At TREKK, we decided that reactive maintenance was no longer a viable strategy for our clients. Protecting our communities and their critical infrastructure requires more than guesswork; It requires an agile, cost-effective way to visualize high-risk assets that have historically been considered inaccessible.
The Pivot: From Traditional CCTV to 360° Pioneers
Our journey into hardware development was born out of necessity. TREKK has a history of developing tools to overcome the challenges of inspecting difficult assets. While other untethered camera systems exist on the market, none could inspect large-diameter interceptors with the level of quality to meet the standards established for a NASSCO PACP inspection.
Utilizing our knowledge and expertise in working with 360° camera technologies, we developed a system that provides a comprehensive view of large diameter pipes with the visual clarity needed for a PACP compliant inspection. We did not want to simply be a service provider; we wanted to be a solution engine. By engineering this system in-house, we ensured that our tools were built specifically for the grit and complexity of Midwest infrastructure.
The Innovation: The 360° Interceptor Float
To solve the problem, we turned to a team of our best internal problem solvers. Ethan and the team around him were instrumental in bringing high-fidelity 360° camera technology to a custom-engineered float system designed to withstand the harshest environments.
Unlike traditional “crawlers” that can get stuck or require miles of restrictive cabling, our system is designed to be untethered. It moves with the natural flow of the pipe, capturing the interior in an immersive, 360-degree digital view.
The Technical Specs at a Glance:
- Primary Target: Large-diameter interceptors (36″ to 96″+).
- Visual Clarity: A full 360° field of view allows engineers and field crew to virtually “look around” the pipe and zoom in on areas of concern
- Deployment Versatility: Capable of both tethered and untethered deployments depending on site conditions and risk factors.
- The “Flow” Factor: The float is designed to work with existing hydraulic conditions, minimizing or eliminating the need for expensive bypass pumping.
Why This Matters: The “Invisible” Risk
At TREKK, we pride ourselves on finding smarter ways to solve complex problems. We have a proven history of utilizing 360 technology and photogrammetry to analyze manholes and pipes providing the quality of service our clients have come to expect. So why go through the trouble of building our own sewer float system? Because the stakes are too high to ignore.
Our team frequently encounters legacy systems, like massive 96-inch interceptors buried beneath major highways, where the exact alignment and structural condition remain largely unknown. Historically, investigating these systems could take weeks of exploratory work. With the 360° float system, once required weeks can often be resolved in a single afternoon.
By providing a fast, cost-effective way to see inside these systems, we help municipalities identify structural cracks, debris accumulation, and early signs of collapse before they become major failures or headline news.
