Guarding the plant: Robot dogs improve safety and reliability

Working in process industries is a risky business. Chemical reactions, electrical fires, and high temperatures pose potential hazards. A solid maintenance strategy is crucial to ensuring personnel safety and operational reliability. The sheer size of these facilities – some of which extend over several square kilometers – creates its own challenges. Operators need the assurance that they have a solid and accurate view of all the systems running in such vast complexes.

It was this that prompted Siemens to ask itself, “How can we transform and facilitate industrial maintenance through technology?” And so, the inspection robot dog was born.

Collaboration: More than the sum of its parts

The autonomous mobile robot (AMR) that became the solution was a joint effort, right from the start. “Siemens did some research together with the colleagues from ANYbotics and Roboverse Reply,” recounts Product Manager of COMOS Mobile Worker Guido Schimmang, “and realized that we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel.” Developments in artificial intelligence have pushed the capabilities of mobile robots to become more autonomous and collaborative and intelligent enough to perform more than relatively simple, repetitive tasks.

The aptly named ANYmal robot is designed and built by original equipment manufacturer ANYbotics. Siemens uses the COMOS Mobile Worker to manage and consolidate data from various systems of plants and facilities. And, IT consulting firm Roboverse Reply is the link between the two; its Roboverse Reply platform integrates the robotics and combines real-world data with virtual and augmented reality environments.

Inspection on command: AMR eases data collection and improves sustainability

The three companies created a version of ANYmal that is especially tailored to ease the burden of maintenance and inspection in complex industrial settings. On command, ANYmal collects accurate, high-quality data from hundreds of inspection points all on its own. Equipped with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology – which creates precise high-resolution 3D models of facilities – and combined with AI-powered mobility, the bot can easily navigate multi-floor plants, even with no light.

Like its real-life counterpart, the robot dog has excellent vision and can “hear,” and “smell.” ANYmal is equipped with an infrared camera that captures the temperatures of pumps and motors. Its acoustic sensors measure both audible and inaudible frequencies up to 15,000 Hz, enabling the autonomous mobile robot to also detect gas leaks – making a big impact on energy costs and sustainability as up to 30% of gas is lost through leakages.

Real-time data provides insights and reduces backlog

As it inspects, captures, and measures, the AMR produces a lot of data. “And that’s where our platform comes into play to integrate the captured data in our customer’s systems,” says Cornelius Heim, Business Developer/Solution Engineer from Roboverse Reply. "The Roboverse Reply platform filters the data captured by the COMOS Mobile Worker, showing only the data that is relevant to you,” he adds. The robots/systems use AI to interpret the captured data so that the facility operators see key information about the plant, which helps them take the next steps.

“You get a much deeper insight into your current facilities and your ongoing processes, which allows you to transition from reactive to predictive maintenance,” Cornelius Heim continues. “And you increase productivity because you have better insight into the actual condition of your plant or facility.”

Robot dogs do dull, dangerous, and dirty work

Autonomous mobile robots perform repetitive work so that operators can focus on value-added activities. “We automate the inspection tasks that are often dull, dangerous and dirty,” says Purnendu Kushwaha, ANYbotics’ Senior Go-to-Market Manager.

Man’s robotic best friend can also perform other tasks. “Our ANYmal is capable of going into almost all zones: outside in the rain, in the snow, into explosive areas,” the manager adds. This saves workers from putting themselves in potentially hazardous situations.

With each mission, the robots extend their capabilities: the integrated deep learning algorithms allow them to become more versatile, enhance their flexibility in responding to their environments, and permit higher reliability in identifying, classifying and detecting objects.

The future of inspection is here today. Robot dogs reduce risk, improve worker safety, and help advance sustainability in the process industries.

This article was originally published as an Industry Stories article, which can be found here.

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