A self-propelled inspection vehicle for piping systems includes a vehicle body in the form of a rigid, tightly-sealed housing having forward and rearward end faces as seen in a given insertion direction of the vehicle into the piping, a power supply disposed in the housing, a propulsion mechanism for resiliently bracing the housing against the inner surface of the piping, at least one motor connected to the power supply and to the propulsion mechanism for driving the propulsion mechanism, a television camera optical system having a given field of view being supported on the forward end face of the housing, and at least one light source associated with the given field of view being supported on the forward end face of the housing.