The Anybotics robot can independently inspect the work and draw attention to problems.
(Photo: Anybotics)
Zurich The Swiss robot developer Anybotics has developed a four-legged inspection robot for industrial plants and has now raised 50 million dollars in capital for further growth. Venture capitalists Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital participated in the Series B financing round.
The main product of the company, which was spun off from ETH Zurich in 2016, is called “Anymal X”. The robot can autonomously carry out routine inspections in chemical plants, offshore oil platforms or mines.
Co-founder and CEO Péter Fankhauser said in an interview with the Handelsblatt that Anybotics wants to use the additional capital to “drive the company’s growth internationally and develop new capabilities for the Anymal-X robot”.
The robot inspector should ensure safety
The four-legged machine can climb stairs and is equipped with sensors that can detect, for example, missing fire extinguishers, leaks in gas pipes or unusual noises. The robot reports abnormalities to a plant security employee, who can monitor several security robots in parallel via a control center.
The machine should also be able to be used in harsh weather conditions such as storms and salt water or in potentially explosive environments. The chemical company BASF is already using the Anymal-X robot in a pilot project at its main plant in Ludwigshafen. Siemens Energy is testing the maintenance of offshore wind turbines with the Anybotics product. At the Petronas oil company, the Anymal-X takes over shifts on offshore oil platforms.
The co-founder of Anybotics wants to offer Anymal X as a “robot as a service”.
(Photo: Anybotics)
Co-founder Fankhauser was already working with a small team on the construction of a robot as a doctoral student at ETH Zurich in 2013. Feedback from the industry on videos demonstrating the machine on YouTube brought the team to the business model of the company, which was founded three years later. Anybotics built a robot for factory security of large industrial plants and wants to rent it out as a service provider – “robot as a service” is what Fankhauser calls it.
Companies can hire the robot for the equivalent of around 8500 euros per month. Fankhauser emphasizes: “It was never about replacing human jobs.” The work that the robot takes on often takes place in dangerous environments. “Companies are already having problems finding qualified personnel for such jobs,” he says. The skills of the robot complemented each other well with the experience of the skilled workers from the plant security. Your work would be made easier.
Learn to walk with artificial intelligence
Anybotics continuously improves the robot with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and teaches it new skills. This is how the Anymal X learned to walk on the computer. The developers programmed motion sequences and simulated them millions of times on the PC. The machine learned via AI and was able to complete tens of thousands of operating hours digitally.
CEO Fankhauser qualifies: “Of course, there are situations in real use that cannot be simulated.” But the robot can also learn from these – and the new skills can be taught to all delivered machines via software updates.
The inspection robot can also reach higher areas of the factory premises.
(Photo: Anybotics)
Young Sohn, Managing Partner at Walden Catalyst, calls Anybotics a “breakthrough technology” that “combines AI with robotics to create highly robust and autonomous four-legged robots.” The Anymal-X robot is an “efficient solution for inspection applications in environments that are dangerous for humans”.
Anybotics and the sponsors are already looking for other possible applications for the robot platform.
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