Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog Detects Gas Leaks

Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot dog has successfully detected a potentially hazardous gas leak at a midstream gas plant during an autonomous inspection.

Small, pinhole gas leaks can cause explosions and are a major hazard in the industry. Spot’s autonomous inspection capabilities could prove a selling point for its deployment in the oil and gas industries.

For this inspection, Spot was equipped with an array of sensors to capture data for plant monitoring. These included visual and thermal cameras, a MUVE C360 gas detection sensor and navigation capabilities that enabled it to autonomously roam the 40-acre facility.

Once the MUVE 360 sensor detected a plume of combustible gas, Spot shut down to avoid ignition risk and the safety team was alerted to move in and address the leak.

“Spot was not only able to detect leaks accurately with the gas sensor and safely initiate its shutdown process, but this solution also has the potential to speed detection and response times,” the team said in a statement.

“This is a perfect example of using unmanned chemical sensing to reduce the risk for oil and gas, as well as other industrial manufactures,” said Craig Cume, Teledyne FLIR product management director for Detection. “The MUVE C360 sensor on board Spot is making reliable and effective remote gas detection a reality.”