ANYbotics Delivers Explosion-Protected Inspection Robots for Offshore Energy

Swiss robotics company ANYbotics has begun customer deliveries of ANYmal X, a four-legged autonomous inspection robot designed to operate in potentially explosive environments, opening new opportunities for robotic inspection across offshore oil and gas installations and industrial processing facilities.

Initial customers include Equinor and DSM-Firmenich, following an extensive testing program involving BP, Shell, PETRONAS, Petrobras, BASF and SLB. Since 2023, participating companies have evaluated the technology across hundreds of onshore and offshore inspection missions.
ANYmal X is engineered to meet ATEX and IECEx explosion-protection standards, addressing a major obstacle to deploying autonomous mobile robots in hazardous areas containing flammable gases or vapors.

The robot navigates stairs, narrow walkways and complex industrial infrastructure without requiring facility modifications. Integrated thermal, visual, acoustic and gas sensors monitor pumps, compressors, valves and piping for overheating, leaks, abnormal noise and equipment deterioration.
"Many experts thought a legged robot could never be made safe for explosive atmospheres," said Péter Fankhauser, Co-Founder and CEO of ANYbotics. "That changes today."

Developing the system required four years of engineering and resulted in more than 10 patents, according to the company.

Explosion-protection measures include nitrogen-filled sealed chambers housing electronics and inspection equipment, flameproof enclosures protecting the battery and 12 leg actuators, conductive feet for grounding and automatic temperature monitoring.

ANYmal X operates through ANYbotics' Shift platform, which schedules autonomous inspection rounds, associates collected measurements with individual assets and integrates findings into existing maintenance management systems, including SAP, Yokogawa and SLB platforms.

The technology is intended to reduce personnel exposure to hazardous operating environments while providing repeatable equipment condition data for predictive maintenance and digital twin applications.

ANYbotics reports that its existing industrial inspection systems conduct more than 120,000 autonomous inspections monthly across over 50 customers in power, metals and materials industries.

The company will publicly demonstrate ANYmal X and its industrial AI platform alongside SLB and Kuwait Oil Company at ADIPEC 2026, November 2–5, in Abu Dhabi.

Image courtesy ANYbotics