The Sensabot system, which took seven years for its development, has been designed in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University in the US, the UK’s Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) and Improvia in the Netherlands.
Shell digital technologies executive vice-president Alisa Choong said: “Sensabot enables colleagues to do their jobs at a safe distance, while also lowering the costs of day-to-day operations.
“Sensabot represents the strong ambition of Shell to lead in safety-enhancing technology, especially in exceptional environmental and operational situations.”
Capable of working for six months without any maintenance, the robot is designed to work in remote or unmanned oil and gas facilities. Featuring rapid-deployment container and powerful private 4G-LTE system, the robot can be integrated to the operating assets and is currently being equipped for surveillance of oil and gas facilities.
The robot’s 4G-LTE system provides connectivity to up to 5000 devices including industrial smartphones, -tablets, people-and material-tracking and condition monitoring equipment.
Shell said that the 4G LTE is cheaper in industrial locations and also provides more reliable coverage when compared with other types of industrial wireless networks.
Shell plans to deploy the Sensabot robot at several of its operated and non-operated ventures upon successful completion of final testing at its Pernis complex in the Netherlands.
The Sensabot platform can also be used by emergency services, or for maintenance purposes.
Image: A Sensabot inspection robot can be operated in difficult and hostile environments. Photo: courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University.
