Automating industrial inspection & maintenance with autonomous robots
Many industrial operations still rely on the continuous physical presence of humans despite a shortage of qualified workers, productivity limitations, and persistent workplace accidents. The EU is facing a severe shortage of plant operators owing to retirement, and unplanned shutdowns have significant consequences on overall productivity. In contrast to machines, which can detect early indications of problems in heat and vibration patterns, human senses and cognition are often incapable of recognizing problems at an early stage, and human error remains the primary cause of workplace accidents that lead to devastating damage to humans and infrastructure.
During their time at Wyss Zurich, the ANYbotics team, under the project name ANYmotion, developed and launched ANYmal, a next-generation AI-powered, autonomous, agile robot for industrial inspection and maintenance. With this technology, plant operators can improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of industrial work by allowing staff to avoid exposure to unpleasant and potentially dangerous environments. Equipped with sensitive sensors, the robotic co-workers provide reliable and accurate insights into the health of equipment and infrastructure, and the mobile sensing platform can detect problems beyond the capabilities of stationary sensors.
