ANYmal can carry modular sensor payloads and detect machine noises and fuel leaks. Supply: ANYbotics
Figuring out and managing fuel leaks at industrial websites could be expensive and unsafe. ANYbotics AG right now launched a brand new Fuel Leak and Presence Detection functionality for its ANYmal quadruped robotic.
“Fuel leaks are an invisible but vital drawback in industrial environments, particularly in petrochemical crops, the place many gases are fugitive,” mentioned the Zurich-based firm. “A single, undetected fuel leak can value a facility over $57,000 yearly, which might rapidly add up, past the quick security dangers.”
Guide inspections typically miss present leaks and early indicators of pipework failure, equivalent to delicate temperature adjustments or uncommon noises, ANYbotics added. As a result of these inspections are tedious, inconsistently tracked, and infrequently rare, vital tools can go unchecked, permitting many fuel leaks to go unnoticed and resulting in expensive and doubtlessly harmful conditions.
“Our new Fuel Leak and Presence Detection resolution is a game-changer for industrial leak detection and prevention,” said Péter Fankhauser, CEO of ANYbotics. “By combining ANYmal’s autonomous navigation with modular fuel detectors and a 360° acoustic imaging payload, we’re offering a strong, versatile device that considerably enhances security and drives substantial value financial savings for our clients.”
“Our autonomous cell robots [AMRs] can now detect the supply of leaks, quantify the loss, and alert personnel in actual time,” he mentioned. “By extending protection throughout the complete facility, we’re offering a stage of precision and effectivity that reduces operational prices, improves security, and lowers emissions.”
360° acoustic imaging affords improved precision
ANYbotics mentioned its built-in fuel detectors and acoustic imaging payload can exactly find leaks and concurrently measure ambient fuel concentrations. The brand new cell acoustic imaging digicam is ready to entry areas which can be tough and expensive to achieve with conventional static sensors, it famous.
The acoustic sensor can detect a wide selection of frequent industrial fuel leaks, equivalent to steam, compressed air, vacuum, poisonous gases, and hydrocarbons, defined ANYbotics.
The corporate claimed that ANYmal allows inspection and upkeep groups to not solely detect extra leaks, but additionally to proactively establish vulnerabilities in vital pipework, serving to to stop future leaks.
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Modular payload senses completely different gases
The brand new Fuel Presence Detection resolution’s modular design permits customers to swap in detectors for various gases, together with oxygen, hydrocarbons, ammonia, and lots of others, after which calibrate them on web site.
“The platform helps mounting as much as two detectors on the similar time, and these are hot-swappable by the client, enabling quick adaptation to completely different mission wants inside gas-storage amenities,” Fankhauser instructed The Robotic Report.
“When used collectively, the acoustic imager and fuel detectors complement one another — whereas the acoustic imager pinpoints the precise supply of a pressurized fuel leak, the fuel detectors measure the focus of gases current within the setting,” he defined. “This mixed setup allows each localization and quantification of fuel anomalies.”
“Clients can mix sensor payloads on ANYmal to satisfy their particular inspection wants,” added Fankhauser. “The robotic helps a multi-sensor configuration, permitting integration of fuel detectors, acoustic imagers, thermal cameras, visible cameras, high-precision scanners, and microphones.”
“This inherent flexibility permits ANYmal to constantly monitor varied fuel concentrations round its physique throughout each autonomous and teleoperated missions, significantly enhancing security in areas the place static sensors supply restricted protection,” ANYbotics asserted. “The system additionally offers customer-configurable thresholds that set off an alarm upon overexposure.”
By detecting fugitive gases and automating inspections in hazardous and hard-to-reach areas, ANYmal can scale back human publicity to harmful substances and environments, mentioned the corporate.
ANYmal can recurrently examine hazardous or difficult-to-reach areas. Supply: ANYbotics
Fuel Presence Detection system feeds insights
The Fuel Leak and Presence Detection system can establish partial discharge occasions and mechanical anomalies. It then quantifies the speed of detected emissions and delivers actionable insights straight into Information Navigator, ANYbotics’ inspection knowledge and asset administration platform launched in February.
“Past totally licensed {hardware} integration, the system is totally embedded into ANYbotics’ knowledge platform and mission interface, enabling automated detection, alerting, and visualization,” mentioned Fankhauser. “Fuel-related anomalies are contextualized on the ability’s flooring plan, permitting operators to localize points rapidly and analyze them alongside different inspection knowledge equivalent to visible and thermal imagery.”
“Information Navigator is extra asset-centric — the info simply occurs to be collected by the robots,” he mentioned. “The consumer who operates the robotic isn’t essentially the identical as the one that is within the knowledge. The platform makes use of language for upkeep engineers and plant managers.”
ANYmal can autonomously examine amenities and belongings extra ceaselessly and recurrently than guide inspections to generate precious pattern knowledge. That knowledge may also help corporations plan for predictive upkeep and extra proactive repairs to allow them to adjust to environmental rules, get operational value financial savings, and contribute to sustainability targets, mentioned ANYbotics.
The Fuel Leak and Presence Detection functionality is offered as an add-on to the usual ANYmal platform. Clients can add it as a part of a payload configuration, relying on their inspection necessities.
ANYbotics affords versatile enterprise fashions as a part of its robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) subscription setup, with Fuel Leak and Presence Detection use instances beginning at lower than $1,000 per thirty days.
The Fuel Leak and Presence Detection resolution feeds actionable knowledge to the Information Navigator platform. Supply: ANYbotics
Early adopters already see financial savings, says ANYbotics
Some ANYbotics clients within the vitality, metals, mining, and oil and fuel sectors have already used the brand new Fuel Leak and Presence Detection resolution. Early adopters equivalent to Outokumpu Oyj and DSM-Firmenich AG mentioned the system is demonstrating advantages.
“Fuel Leak Detection matches into our knowledge and upkeep technique and offers us peace of thoughts so we will deal with value-creating duties,” mentioned Patrik d’Allens, head of technical companies at DSM-Firmenich.
Based in 2009, ANYbotics has designed ANYmal for autonomous operations, superior mobility, and real-time knowledge assortment in difficult industrial environments. It mentioned the legged robots are appropriate for routine inspections, distant operations, or predictive upkeep.
The firm has about 200 staff and workplaces in Zurich and San Francisco. ANYbotics has raised greater than $130 million from European and Silicon Valley traders, together with $60 million in December 2024, to fund its international enlargement.
“The market is receptive to constructing corporations which can be sustainable in the long run, not simply round AI,” Fankhauser mentioned. “We’re not simply centered on delivery robots, but additionally on getting our boots on the bottom, integrating software program and {hardware}, and getting certifications in cybersecurity. We’re additionally doubling down on the North American market and increasing our worth proposition with new capabilities.”
