robotics

The criticality of above-water riser hull piping requires frequent inspections. Traditional manual inspection methods present safety and efficiency concerns, but work is being done to see if robotic technologies—such as drones and crawlers—can do the job as good as, or even better than, humans.

Advances in robotics can revolutionize the way maintenance, inspection, and testing is performed, making operations safer by reducing exposure of personnel to hazards. This paper analyzes the causes of slow industry adoption of robotic technologies and presents a roadmap for accelerated adoption.

Robots may not be ready to take over the world just yet, but they are making great strides in the offshore industry. A technical session at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference presented some of the advances, including untethered ROVs and subsea broadband communications.

Robots have been a part of industrial production for decades, but the interface between humans and robots has changed as automation technologies increased in complexity, scope, and scale. Once a novelty, collaborative robots are projected to become a significant element of the automation landscape.

The need to optimize tank turnaround schedules is as great as it has ever been within the midstream sector, but traditional human-based tank inspections often cut into uptime while introducing safety risks. New robotic applications aim to alleviate these issues.

Saipem is taking the lead in advancing the capabilities of FlatFish, an autonomous underwater vehicle being developed by Shell for commercial application by 2020.

Technologies are being developed that have the potential to support marine mining in all stages from prospection to decommissioning. These developments will likely have substantial influence in the oil and gas industry, itself searching for ways to maximize exploitation of assets.

An 18-month project will develop and trial a mobile robot for autonomous operational inspection of Total facilities.

The CEO of Houston Mechatronics told an Aramco Innovation Day audience that robotics is at the same point that the Internet and online communication were at in the mid-1990s and will soon become “the iconic technology of this century.”

Robots have the potential to move human operators away from uncomfortable, potentially risky environments and into comfortable, safe control rooms.