Carnegie Mellon has yet another cool robot in the making.
This time it's SensaBot, a human-sized robot that will inspect oil and
gas facilities. Remotely controlled, the robot will contain audio,
visual, temperature and gas detection sensors. A human operator can
direct SensaBot to perform inspection tasks without compromising his own
safety.
Carnegie Mellon's
National Robotics Engineering Center
(NREC) and Shell Development Kashagan B.V. agreed to collaborate on the
SensaBot project in July. The robot is being developed for use in the
Kashagan field, a high pressure oil and gas reservoir in the Kazakhstani
sector of the Caspian Sea.
"This is an exciting opportunity for us to get some of our research into
real commercial use," Bill Ross, project manager at NREC, said.
SensaBot is currently in the planning stage, Ross added. Only about two
months into the design stage, they are hoping to start real testing this
coming spring.
"We hope that this is part of Carnegie Mellon setting up successful
commercial ventures and in the future companies in Pittsburgh are
manufacturing robots like this," Ross said.
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Writer: Alex Audia
Source: Bill Ross, NREC