Robot and Drone

Customer Challenges

Today’s routine inspections and maintenance activities have some common challenges:

• Safety Risk due to working at height in exposed structures, hazardous areas, or harsh environments, all requiring extra protection and work processes.
• Labor Shortage due to the aging population and technical skills gap.
• Human Limitations to perform the tasks in terms of speed, accuracy, consistency, etc.

Solutions

Robot and drone technology can help solve these challenges. Correctly deployed robot and drone technologies have the capabilities to:

• Reducing the safety risk by reaching heights and dangerous areas quickly, easily, and safely.
• Solving the labor shortage by allowing the emerging workforce to use technology to do tasks more efficiently with better repeatability.
• Beyond human limits, robots and drones can be equipped with sensors and specifically designed payloads to meet operational objectives.
   

Robotics Integration Platform

The robotics integration platform will facilitate the integration of multiple robots and drones, manages the data, and expands the range of applications to contribute to the customer’s businesses.

API for External Application
This platform provides API for seamless data integration with external applications, such as AI applications, for analyzing the data captured by robots and drones. 

Data Management: Aggregate, Analyze, and Report
Data aggregation from multiple devices is a difficult task. This platform will manage these complex data and communication structures, enabling further analysis and reporting.

Fleet Management: Coordinate, Collect, and Control
Integrated control and monitoring for multiple robots and drones with a single integrated HMI and access from multiple devices for ease of fleet coordination, control, and data collection. This is a foundation for remote operation and fully autonomous operation in the future.
 

Integration with Existing Control System and Asset Management System

This robotics integration platform will provide an IA System interface to integrate with the existing control system and asset management system.
Yokogawa's domain knowledge and experiences in the process industry and IT/OT technology will make this integration done seamlessly.

 

Key Success Factors for Implementing Robot & Drone Technology

Implementing robot and drone technology is difficult and creates new operational and technological challenges for customers. They need a trusted partner that manages the selection and implementation process to ensure the robot and drone operations' reliability, availability, and sustainability.
 

Avoiding Data Silos in Robot Operations

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In addition to the difficulties in deploying robots in the plant, we believe that multiple robots and drones from different types and manufacturers will work simultaneously in the future. 
Controlling and managing the robots and drones for collecting data and transforming this data into information requires skills and experience. 
To prevent robots and drones from working in silos, Yokogawa will provide optimal value for the customers as the right solution. 
 

Data Integration for Optimal Utilization

The implementation of robotics technology is a new way to do business for most customers, and integration with their existing systems, such as control and asset management systems, will be a new challenge for them.  With the appropriate integration, the data captured by robots and drones can be utilized optimally.

One-stop Solutions Provider

Yokogawa will provide a One-stop Solution from problem definition, consulting, hardware and software selection, engineering, operational, and long-term services to ensure the reliability, availability, and sustainability of the robot and drone operations.

• Yokogawa combines in-house solutions and various solutions from our strategic partners to solve customer challenges and meet customer requirements.
• Yokogawa’s co-innovation approach with customers enables the collaborative development of specific robots and drones use cases to be tested, developed, and deployed jointly. ​​

Use Cases

First Responder

• With the integration of the robotics platform and DCS, when an operator receives dangerous situation alarms in DCS, robots can be deployed as first responders to check the situation instead of a human.
• Customer gains awareness and quick response to the situation and reduces the safety risks.

Field Patrol

• The robots can run routine surveillance in operator rounds tasks autonomously at a scheduled time.
• Robots become the “eye,” “ear,” and “nose” of the plant with a combination of different sensors to detect anomalies and monitor the assets with AI analysis.

Various Inspections with Drones

• Solar Panel Inspection
• Oil Tank Inspection
• Wind Turbine Blade Inspection
• Tower and Power Line Inspection      etc.

Asset Digital Twin

• Integration of the data the robots and drones captures ensure coherency and consistency.
• The data availability permits the correct viewer to access the correct data intuitively.