Waygate Technologies and Petronas to roll out co-developed robotic inspection solution
08/06/2022
Waygate Technologies, a Baker Hughes business and world leader in non-destructive testing (NDT) solutions for industrial inspection, has signed an intellectual property and technology agreement with Malaysian oil & gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) for the roll-out and commercialisation of a jointly developed robotic inspection platform. The official signing ceremony took place at the 2022 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Asia in Kuala Lumpur in March.
The new robotic crawler platform, based on the Bike robotic system, will initially be implemented by Petronas globally, while Waygate Technologies will support the deployment with a comprehensive training and services package. The two companies will also explore commercialisation of robotic crawler solutions in the future.
Petronas will deploy a refined version of the standard Bike robot that will be fitted with a cleaning tool and additional ultrasonic and eddy current inspection capabilities. The two companies are also planning to jointly develop two new versions of the platform; the Bike I-Beam, designed to overcome specific obstacles and sharp edges in confined spaces, and a micro-crawler version to facilitate the inspection of smaller pipes. “Petronas has been a valued customer of our NDT solutions for years and we are thrilled to now also be able to help advance their remote inspection and cleaning procedures,” said Michael Domke, Executive General Manager of Visual and Robotic Inspection Solutions at Waygate Technologies. “Our research and development (R&D) teams have been working closely together to tailor our robotic Bike platform to their specific challenges. The result is a solution that will allow Petronas to minimise safety risks for their personnel, as well as the overall downtime of their assets around the globe.”
“We are really glad to join forces with the robotics team at Waygate Technologies on this,” said Dr Mahpuzah Abai, Chief Executive Officer of Petronas’s technology commercialisation arm, Petronas Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd (PTVSB). “They have a great deal of experience and patents in mobile robots and inspection technologies. By pairing that with the know-how and vision of our R&D team, we could create solutions that will benefit our inspection and cleaning staff, as well as streamlining our asset management. I look forward to offering these solutions to other companies in the future.”
For Waygate Technologies, the agreement seals another milestone in the company’s strategy to strengthen its automated data caption capabilities and drive innovations that will enhance its customers’ productivity and competitiveness. As part of an energy technology company, robotic inspection solutions are part of the mission to make energy operations safer and more efficient for people and the planet.
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