Hannover Messe 2022: Spot the Robot Dog, ANYmal Inspecting Oil and Gas Rigs

AI software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Cognite showcased its platform at this year’s Hannover Messe; deployed on oil and gas rigs using Boston Dynamics’ robot dogs Spot and ANYmal from ANYbotics.

The group is Norway’s first unicorn and was created to offer remote monitoring and data collection services, running data gathered through machine learning algorithms and physics simulators to help industries streamline operations.

Cognite’s main software product, Cognite Data Fusion, gathers scans, sensor data and imaging  (including thermal imaging) from remote locations that are often costly to send human maintenance and inspection workers to. Data from these autonomous inspections is then sent to Cognite Data Fusion in real time, where it is contextualized before being moved into solutions or applications of the customer’s choosing such as a digital twin or dashboard.

The camera and sensor components can be added or dismantled from the bot depending on a user’s needs, with tests currently underway to add a robotic arm to ANYmal to give it more hands-on capabilities. The sensor tech, in allowing the bot to navigate its surroundings, means remote workers don’t necessarily need to know the site themselves to gain insights, with the robot producing 3D models of a plant or rig for a customer. As well as the data gathered by the robot, the system can have all previous inspection images and models uploaded onto it, giving customers potentially decades’ worth of materials on a site.

Co-founder and chief strategy officer  Stein Danielsen said the pandemic was a huge driving force in the current demand for remote monitoring capabilities, as well as the increased pressure for operations to reduce emissions. Through harnessing these remotely-operated devices, he said businesses can see a reduction in travel-associated emissions from sending workers to the location, as well as cost and time savings from unnecessary fixes.

The technology is already used to analyze and monitor Norway’s power grid, deployed in drones that are stored in towers along the grid lines. Expansion plans are underway, with talk of adding even more robots to its repertoire in the future.