Astec launches Silobot, a robotic asphalt silo inspection and mapping service

Astec has introduced a new asphalt silo inspection tool designed to minimize danger to personnel inspecting the silo, provide precise thickness mapping, and cut back silo downtime to a fraction of what is traditionally needed.

Called Silobot, the machine was on display at ConExpo 2017 in Las Vegas.

The old way to inspect a silo was to build scaffolding and send a person inside, which presented not only potential fall dangers, but confined space issues as well.

“The silos have 6 inches of insulation and then a metal wrap around the insulation,” says Larry Johnston, vice president of parts sales. “From the outside you can’t tell what’s going on inside. So the only real way to do it right now is to build scaffolding, go up in it, build more scaffolding and test it, and it’s a day and a half of setting up to get it inspected. So you’re three days down for one silo inspection.”

With the Silobot, an Astec technician can be in and out in two hours.

The Silobot has four wheels with 100 pounds of magnetic thrust each. It’s fitted with a 4K GoPro camera and a technician guides it remotely wearing a set of head-tracking goggles.