Robotic Solutions for Industrial Inspection – Teleoperation in a Chemical Plant

The FZI Research Center for Information Technology was part of the AIRA (Advanced Industrial Robotic Applications) Challenge 2024. The challenge on finding ways to remotely control mobile robots in chemical plant scenarios at the ACHEMA fair. The video was shot during the challenge runs in Frankfurt, Germany.

The goal was to create innovative robotic solutions for teleoperation in industrial inspection and service, and to accomplish monitoring tasks. Inspection and monitoring are daily routine jobs in the process industry. In these scenarios, teleoperation can allow robots to perform tasks that cannot be automated easily. The FZI Research Center for Information Technology is working on applications for such scenarios in various projects. Some of the results presented at the AIRA Challenge originate from the ROBDEKON project, which develops robotic systems for decontamination in hostile environments.

The AIRA organizers were looking for technology enabling operators to remotely control robots and spontaneously execute additional tasks from a distance. The challenge's tasks included navigating, opening and closing doors, controlling and identifying materials, disposing of waste, inspecting closed cabinets, performing common maintenance tasks, and doing a round of the game buzzwire.

The FZI develops robotic solutions to meet these requirements by combining robust state-of-the-art hardware and software with innovative, modular approaches. The Boston Dynamics robot Spot (with a robotic arm) used in the challenge is an example of an off-the-shelf platform that combines high mobility and robustness. ROS-based software such as the FZI's VDB 3D mapping and 3D path planning, as well as a 6D mouse, were combined to master the challenge and led to a successful second place.

Watch our videos for the solutions the FZI comes up with to solve the key challenges of industrial inspection and process monitoring. Let us know what you think about our approach to plant scenarios in the comments!