ANYbotics begins delivering ANYmal X legged robot for explosive atmospheres

ANYmal X is certified to operate in hazardous atmospheres. Source: ANYbotics

Hazardous environments are good use cases for robots, which are expanding into new use cases. ANYbotics AG today launched ANYmal X, which it claimed is “the world’s first legged inspection robot for explosive atmospheres.”

The new quadruped is designed to meet strict safety standards in oil, gas , and chemicals, said the company . ANYmal X uses an advanced industrial AI stack to conduct routine autonomous inspections in environments that are dangerous to people, it said.

“Four years of pioneering engineering with more than 10 patents went into ANYmal X,” stated Péter Fankhauser, co-founder and CEO of ANYbotics. “Many experts thought a legged robot could never be made safe for explosive atmospheres.

“Oil, gas and chemical plants are among the most hazardous and most costly places to operate,” he added. “That makes them the prime case for physical and industrial AI, yet until now, the areas that matter most were off-limits to robots like ours. That changes today.”

Spun out of ETH Zurich in 2016, ANYbotics said its ANYmal robots and the Shift operations platform automate routine inspections in multiple industries, keeping people out of harm’s way and turning inspection data into maintenance action. Backed by more than $150 million from leading European and Silicon Valley investors, ANYbotics has about 200 employees in Zurich, San Francisco, and Barcelona.

Equipment failures in hazardous spaces are costly, says ANYbotics

“Valued at $102 billion, the global oil, gas, and chemical sector is the largest market for autonomous inspection,” noted ANYbotics. “Two major operational costs drive this market value: the expensive skilled labor required for manual inspection, and the downtime caused by preventable equipment failures.”

“Because critical components, like pumps, compressors, valves, and piping, are located in hazardous zones, where standard robots are banned, human operators still need personal protective equipment, handheld gas detectors, and entry permits to inspect these areas on foot,” it said.

Undetected equipment failures cost the world’s 500 largest companies roughly $1.4 trillion each year in preventable downtime, ANYbotics said. In the oil and gas sector alone, a single hour of unplanned downtime can cost up to $500,000 according to Siemens , while U.S. extraction workers face a fatality rate seven times the national average, found NIOSH .

In addition to keeping workers out of harm’s way and minimizing downtime, ANYmal X can provide continuous, repeatable, structured observational data that enhances digital facility planning models, such as digital twins. ANYbotics said this gives them greater contextual detail to be more useful across an entire organization.

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Certifying a robot for hazardous zones is one of the hardest parts of the design process

Every device used in hazardous areas, from radios to flashlights, must be explosion-protected, or “ex-proof,” said ANYbotics. Each unit requires independent certification proving it cannot ignite a flammable atmosphere, even when something fails. ANYbotics built ANYmal X to comply with the ATEX standard in Europe and IECEx globally.

Fixed equipment typically achieves compliance using heavy, explosion-proof enclosures or limiting electrical energy to prevent ignition, the company explained. A legged robot cannot use either approach. It requires high-power motors and a large battery in a frame light enough to climb stairs, exposed cameras and sensors for navigation , and autonomous docking capabilities.

ANYbotics has designed its legged robots for complex environments. Source: ANYbotics

Every one of these components had to be certified ex-proof without sacrificing the autonomous mobile robot’s ( AMR ) payload capacity, agility, or operating speed, said ANYbotics.

“We asked one question over and over: Which credible event in the life of a walking robot could create an ignition source, and how do we make sure it never does?” said Andrea Corda, chief technology officer of ANYbotics. “Working closely with the certification bodies, we answered that question component by component. The result is a new explosion-protection approach for an entire class of autonomous mobile robots.”

ANYbotics performed a comprehensive ignition-risk assessment for ANYmal X’s service life and implemented safeguards for each potential ignition source. Each of its components has been designed to minimize ignition risk.

The company said the new robot ’s AI computer and inspection equipment are enclosed in nitrogen-filled, sealed chambers. Non-metallic shells insulate metallic components, conductive feet provide grounding, and automatic cutoffs monitor temperature. All 12 leg actuators and its battery are protected by flameproof casings. Charging and data transmission use energy barriers, so no connection is exposed to hazardous areas.

ANYmal X’s onboard software monitors the robot’s condition before, during, and after each mission. It also tests durability against shock, vibration, corrosion, solar radiation, and salt mist to ensure that all protective measures function properly in normal use.

ANYmal X ships as a ‘complete system’ proven at industrial scale

“A certified robot is only the entry ticket for inspecting oil, gas, and chemicals facilities,” said Thierry Obédé, chief revenue officer at ANYbotics. “ANYmal X is a complete end-to-end inspection solution built for performance, safety, and security. It combines autonomous navigation, industrial AI for data interpretation, and integrations that convert findings directly into maintenance work orders.”

“Today, more than 50 power, metals, and materials customers use this system to run over 120,000 autonomous inspections every month,” he added.

ANYmal X runs on Shift , which schedules robot missions, organizes findings by asset, and helps maintenance teams track changes over time. It connects…

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