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CS-01B· Manufacturer / operatorQuadruped
Aker BP: autonomous inspection in Ex zones on the Valhall platform
Trial of a quadruped certified for explosive atmospheres on a producing platform, with missions supervised from shore, as a step toward unmanned platforms.
Last reviewed: 2026-11 · Methodology & sources →
Fact sheet
- Organization
- Aker BP, with Cognite and ANYbotics
- Sector
- Energy
- Location
- Valhall field, North Sea (Norway)
- Environment
- Offshore / energy
- Stage
- Trial
- First public deployment
- 2023
- Autonomy (editorial classification)
- L3 · Conditional autonomy
- Coordination (editorial classification)
- Coordinated
Published payback
Not published
Deployed: ANYmal X, the Ex-certified variant of the ANYmal family. The dataset lists ANYmal D.
01The challenge
- Aker BP aims to use remote inspection to enable unmanned operation of complex processing platforms by 2027–2029.[Unmanned Systems Technology, 2023]
- Only certified equipment can be used in explosion-risk zones; Aker BP's project engineer framed this as a requirement for any offshore robot.[Unmanned Systems Technology, 2023][Robotics & Automation News, 2023]
02The solution
- Hardware
- ANYmal X quadruped certified for Ex zones.[ANYbotics, 2023][Robotics & Automation News, 2023]
- Perception
- Not published
- Navigation
- Missions planned in ANYbotics Workforce software across 70 inspection points on two decks.[ANYbotics, 2023]
- Coordination
- Data analyzed in Cognite Data Fusion; the onshore control room could take over a mission for manual investigation in first-responder scenarios.[ANYbotics, 2023][Unmanned Systems Technology, 2023]
03Published KPIs
Figures as communicated, with their context and source. “Not published” means no public figure exists — a gap to close in a pilot.
| KPI | Value | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspection pointson two decks | 70 | on two decks | [ANYbotics, 2023] |
| Unmanned operation targetstated goal, not a result | 2027–2029 | stated goal, not a result | [Unmanned Systems Technology, 2023] |
| Manual inspection hours avoided | Not published | — | — |
| False-alarm rateevaluated, no public figure | Not published | evaluated, no public figure | — |
04Lessons
Integration & operations
- The evaluation covered reliability, response to false alarms, ad hoc monitoring, 4G connectivity and operator access to data: the criteria worth demanding in a pilot.[Unmanned Systems Technology, 2023]
Maintenance & limits
Not published
Scaling
- Editorial analysis: the value lies less in the robot than in closing the loop (mission → data → decision) inside the operator's asset-management system.Editorial analysis