Autonomous Drones and Robots Take On Solo Inspections

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Drones and robots are revolutionizing the way industrial and energy enterprises conduct inspections. With their ability to fly high, crawl low, conduct repeat tasks, and withstand hazardous environments, drones and robots are quickly becoming a necessity for industrial inspections. 

While drones and robots have been doing heavy lifting in industrial inspections for years, they’re now reaching the point where they can be left alone to do their work autonomously. 

At Vattenfall’s combined heat and power plant in Berlin-Marzahn, the ANYmal 4-legged robot is trained to conduct autonomous inspections. ANYmal navigates the facility with a built-in navigation system to find pumps, gauges, values, and other equipment to check. Developers call this system the robot’s digital “brain.”

In addition to the built-in mapping, ANYmal and its digital brain can constantly update its knowledge about the surroundings with data from sensors processed through AI algorithms. 

These brains can be installed in ground robots like ANYmal as well as in aerial drones for overhead inspections of power lines, solar panels, wind turbines, silos, and other assets. A drone can capture inspection data that can then be analyzed by AI and, when needed, humans to pinpoint damage, overgrowth, and other issues. 

By using drones and robots to inspect industrial facilities, operators can:

  • Keep facilities up and running instead of shutting down for human inspection

  • Collect and process vast amounts of data about equipment lifecycle

  • Collect consistent data over time—drones are programmed to measure the same conditions time after time

  • Reduce human error

  • Improve safety by having autonomous robots and drones inspect hazardous environments

  • Focus human skills on fixing issues found by the drones

  • And more

I’m still waiting for the alert that I can install a digital brain inside my own head.  Looking at you, Elon…