Remote Robots

Imagine a scenario where robot – as those we have seen in the final of the AIRA Challenge at the ACHEMA 2022 – performing their autonomous routine walk. It is at night during the week-end – only few colleagues are working during night-shift. Deep within the labyrinthine pipes and chambers, there arises an unexpected anomaly that demands presence at site. Despite the presence of the robot nearby, today there is no choice: a colleague must interrupt his current task, go there and evaluate the situation.

Within the AIRA Challenge 2024 you we ask for the necessary extension to cope with such a situation much more elegant: A teleoperator stationed in a plant control center takes command of the robot. Equipped with advanced sensors and a versatile robotics arm, the teleoperated robot is sent to the position to be checked. Its mission: to identify and resolve the situation under guidance and responsibility of the teleoperator.

Hence, they are being called upon to rise to the occasion and substantiate their value in an open innovation challenge set to unfold at June’s ACHEMA. The aim is not only to spotlight the 24-hour, seven-days-a-week diligence they bring to the table but also to underscore the spectrum of additional tasks they can master. This challenge forms a pivotal part of an ambitious initiative championed by a consortium comprising industry giants, including but not limited to BASF, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim and Wacker, all operating under the auspices of NAMUR. The driving expectation behind this challenge is simple: Teleoperation will multiply the value creation of mobile robotics.

Teams from all over the world will have the opportunity to show how close their technology is to the desired solution. In this challenge each team must complete different tasks. The tasks range from simple navigation to opening an standard door and completing a huge buzz wire game. Up to six finalists will be selected at the end of January to present their technology at ACHEMA and compete in the finals in September. “Knowing ongoing developments at several companies and universities, we expect a complete new level of fully immersive intuitive teleoperation” said Dr. Carl- Helmut Coulon, group head of Future Manufacturing Concepts at INVITE, a research partnership between Dortmund University, HHU Düsseldorf and Bayer AG.

Integrating teleoperation introduces a transformative capability to inspect unknown, at worst hazardous,  scenarios in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. With the advent of teleoperated technology, the utilization of mobile robotics  evolves, offering a dynamic solution for potentially many kinds of situations.