Research shows that inspection by robots is more accurate, productive and cost-effective.

2018 saw the introduction of the first ATEX certified robot by ExRobotics. This robot meets safety requirements in the area of explosion hazards. In practice, however, this inspection robot was found to be deficient in a number of areas, including limitations in visual inspection capabilities, in the detection of vibration and heat, in wireless communication, and in payload/range.

In this Safety Deal, industrial manufacturing companies, the Rotterdam-Rijnmond Safety Region and ExRobotics worked together from June 2020 to April 2022 to improve safety through the development and new ways of deploying a second generation of inspection robots in an ATEX environment.

Based on three pilots at Brzo companies, the required investment costs were estimated for an improved inspection robot. These pilots were:

• Well inspection with measurement of compressor vibration at Dow Chemical;
• Measurements of fugitive emissions in the parts per million range at the Shell refinery in Pernis;
• Deployment of the robot as a First Responder together with the Rotterdam-Rijnmond Safety Region.

Code: SVO219009

Status: Completed

Update: February 2023

To determine whether further improvement in safety performance through the latest version of ATEX certified inspection robots is possible in companies working with hazardous materials. Environmental safety is enhanced, by preventing the release of harmful substances with environmental impact, because robots:

• be able to inspect more effectively and efficiently and make a faster and more accurate prediction of imperfections of petrochemical plant components; and
• safely inspect confined spaces.

Confirming during pilots whether, and what, benefits can indeed be achieved by using a robot for continuous inspection of installations in operation.

Knowledge sharing across disciplines of importance when applying inspection robots.

Establish functional and feasibility requirements for visual inspection, robotic arm, sensors and loading unit;

Carrying out the pilots at 3 companies with prototypes with newly realized hardware and software.

Evaluation, including sharing experiences from the pilots, with interested Brzo companies, industry associations and regulators.

[ Source: website RFO, https://data.rvo.nl/initiatieven/svo-projecten/vergroting-veiligheidsimpact-atex-inspectierobot ;

ExRobotics website , https://exrobotics.global/ ]