ULC Robotics, Inc. is excited to be the winner of the 2016 Best Innovation Award Contributing to Quality and Reliability of Gas Supply for the collaborative development of the groundbreaking CIRRIS XI™ and CIRRIS XR™ Robotic System with UK Gas Network SGN.
The UK Energy Innovation Center (EIC) presented ULC with the award at an awards ceremony on Thursday, April 28th in Manchester, England.
“After nearly two years of hard work and dedication from ULC’s and SGN’s innovation and engineering teams, we are honored to have received this award from the EIC,” said Gregory Penza. “The robotic technology we developed will provide gas networks around the globe with a means of extending the life of their large diameter gas mains with minimal disruption to communities, businesses and gas customers.”
In December 2015, ULC and SGN completed the development and successful field testing of the CIRRIS XI™ Inspection Robot and CIRRIS XR™ Repair Robot. The robots were deployed into live gas mains in London and extensively tested to ensure all systems functioned as designed. The outputs of the testing were reviewed by third party technical consultants and the robots are currently being prepared for commercial work in the UK. This is a first-of-its-kind robotic system that is able to conduct this type of work in live, large diameter cast iron gas mains.
Organized by the Energy Innovation Centre, the Energy Innovation Awards provide a platform for pioneering SME’s and individuals to promote the technologies and ideas that have the potential to shape the UK’s energy future. The awards have the backing of energy leaders from across the UK’s gas, electricity and offshore renewables sectors – all of whom are committed to identifying new technologies that have the potential to benefit customers, increase efficiency and improve health and safety.
