EddyBot: A multichannel FPGA-based Eddy Current Testing mobile robot

We introduce EddyBot, a novel integration of a multi-channel FPGA-based Eddy Current Testing (ECT) scanner within a mobile robot designed for autonomous non-destructive testing (NDT). EddyBot distinguishes itself by leveraging advanced signal processing, real-time robotics control, and efficient data synchronization to significantly enhance inspection accuracy and efficiency. Our contributions are (i) the deployment of a Zynq7020 FPGA for fast data acquisition and processing, (ii) alongside the Robot Operating System (ROS) for precise and real-time control with Kalman filtering (KF) sensor fusion for pose estimation. (iii) We further optimize defect detection and localization through a novel data synchronization approach, correlating the robot's pose with ECT signals to a mean synchronization delay of only 11.77 ms. This allows for precise localization of defects within 0.18 cm, improving the overall reliability. The robot's performance was evaluated on aluminum and ferromagnetic specimens, highlighting the system's capability to detect defects with high accuracy.