ANYbotics has started customer deliveries of ANYmal X, a legged inspection robot certified for use in explosive industrial atmospheres including oil, gas and chemical facilities.
According to the Switzerland-based robotics company, ANYmal X is being deployed to companies including Equinor and DSM-Firmenich, for routine inspection tasks in areas where explosion risks prevent the use of most robotic equipment.
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ANYmal X is built to comply with Atmosphères Explosibles (ATEX) and International Electrotechnical Commission System for Certification (IECEx) safety standards, which are required for operation in hazardous zones.
The global oil, gas, and chemicals industry faces persistent challenges around worker safety and costly unplanned downtime.
In areas such as refineries and petrochemical plants, human inspectors typically require specialist protective equipment and permits, as standard robotic devices are restricted due to the risk of igniting flammable atmospheres.
The deployment of robots like ANYmal X is intended to reduce reliance on manual inspection and lower the exposure of personnel to potentially fatal environments.
ANYbotics co-founder and CEO Péter Fankhauser said: “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.
“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.”
ANYmal X uses a combination of sensors, including thermal, visual, acoustic, and gas, to assess the condition of equipment such as pumps, compressors, and valves.
Inspection results are logged with precise asset information and fed directly into plant maintenance software through ANYbotics’ Shift API, supporting rapid response when anomalies are detected.
All core components of ANYmal X, including high-power motors and batteries, have been individually certified as explosion-proof.
Protective features include nitrogen-sealed electronics, non-metallic insulation, and flame-retardant casings.
The robot is designed to handle industrial obstacles like stairs and narrow walkways without modifications to existing facilities.
Industry partners including BP, Shell, PETRONAS, Petrobras, BASF, and SLB took part in ANYmal X’s Early Access programme, providing feedback from hundreds of field trials since 2023.
ANYbotics stated that ANYmal X also supports continuous facility monitoring, aiming to help operators address maintenance issues before they escalate and minimise operational disruptions.
