Equinor to introduce autonomous ATEX-certified robots on their oil & gas installations in Norway. Partners with Austrian inspection robotics specialist Taurob.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA, April 12, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Equinor is introducing autonomous ATEX-certified robots on their oil and gas installations. Partner in the project is inspection robotics specialist Taurob of Austria. Its robot will be used to conduct routine inspection and maintenance tasks on offshore installations.

Thorough certification
Taurob started developing robotics applied for human safety, particularly in emergency response situations, 11 years ago. Safety is also the main driver for the energy domain to step into robotics. The state-of-the-art ‘Taurob Inspector’ robot is the result of an intensive 2-year collaboration between Taurob, French energy giant Total and UK's OGTC. Total was the first energy major to implement robotic inspection on their plant in the North Sea's Shetland Islands. Matthias Biegl, Managing Director and co-founder of Taurob, emphasizes his company's focus on safety: “Our goal is to build trust with operators and raise acceptance on site. Going through thorough certification procedures with the customers and their HSEQ and Electrical departments is as important as the development process itself.”

Equinor decided in 2019 to join Total, OGTC and Taurob in the ARGOS Joint Industry Project to develop a completely new robot, capable of performing autonomous manipulation operations. “We expect the result to be a robust and reliable robot, with maintenance intervals of up to only once per year; ideal for Normally Unmanned Facilities (NUF) where human intervention is rare. As a so called ‘Work Class’ robot, it will physically interact with the installation,” says Biegl. First tests will be performed this year.

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Notes for the editors:

The Taurob Inspector
The Taurob Inspection & Maintenance robot is a fully autonomous ground robot for routine operations and inspection on industrial sites. It can perform under harsh environmental conditions (e.g. rain, cold, explosive gas) and gather video, audio and sensor data. This data is transmitted in real time to a cloud for further processing. The Taurob Inspector helps take personnel out of harm’s way, and optimizes production costs and asset uptime while reducing emissions. Its sophisticated sensors gather 24/7 real-time equipment data, which –through interpretation and algorithms– allow for extremely effective predictive maintenance. Among the most important tasks of the robot, is detecting anomalies and deviations from normal situations, such as early discovery of leaks. The robot is ATEX certified and can run autonomously on site.

Equinor is Norway’s largest operator, a broad energy company with 21,000 employees committed to developing oil, gas, wind and solar energy in more than 30 countries worldwide. The Company is a leading international offshore operator and a growing force in renewables, dedicated to safety, equality, and sustainability.

Taurob is an Austrian Tech company that develops Inspection & Maintenance robots for the energy domain. Through a strategic alliance with leading independent Inspection & Maintenance provider Dietsmann, technological expertise and specific industry knowledge are combined to apply robotics solutions on energy production installations. For 2021, Taurob and Dietsmann offer their clients Proofs of Concept (PoCs) on-site for first-hard experience.

Matthias Biegl
Taurob GmbH
+43 1 6982519
communication@taurob.com
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