Industrial inspection robots can now automatically open doors and authenticate themselves

Industrial inspection robots are useful only if they can reach the equipment they are supposed to inspect. A closed or access-controlled door can therefore become a surprisingly significant obstacle, particularly in large energy, mining, chemical and metals facilities.

Swiss robotics company ANYbotics says it has addressed that problem through a partnership with dormakaba and LEGIC Identsystems, giving its four-legged ANYmal robots the ability to automatically open doors and authenticate themselves at restricted entrances.

The system is designed to let ANYmal move through existing industrial facilities without requiring major structural changes or doors to be left open. For operators, the goal is to expand autonomous inspection coverage while maintaining the same access controls and audit procedures used for human workers.

ANYmal can open doors along its inspection route

For unlocked doors, the system uses a radar sensor to detect the robot’s approach. A retrofitted dormakaba ED 100 or ED 250 swing-door operator then automatically opens the door, allowing ANYmal to pass before closing it again. The door operators can be installed on existing doors rather than requiring facilities to replace them with dedicated robotic-access doors. According to ANYbotics, the system can support indoor and outdoor installations as well as fire-rated doors.

“The joint pilot illustrates how access solutions are evolving beyond traditional applications for human users. By securely authenticating and authorizing autonomous machines, access management can become an important enabler for the next generation of industrial automation,” David Fuller, Chief Innovation Officer at dormakaba, explained.

That is important for industrial facilities, where inspection routes can cross multiple buildings, zones, and types of infrastructure. The company also offers a tele-assist capability for situations the robot cannot resolve autonomously. A remote operator can intervene, modify the mission, or direct ANYmal back to its charging dock, the company notes.

Thus, the technology is intended to remove one of the practical limitations of autonomous inspection: robots can already navigate complex industrial environments, but their usefulness is reduced when a single physical barrier requires a human to intervene.

LEGIC gives the robot a digital identity

Access becomes more complicated when a door is locked or leads to a restricted area. Simply detecting the door is not enough, so the three companies have integrated their systems to allow ANYmal to authenticate itself, The Robot Report writes.

As the company explains, ANYbotics supplies the autonomous mobile robot, LEGIC provides the secure digital credential technology, and dormakaba handles access management and door automation. ANYmal therefore carries a LEGIC security payload that provides it with a digital identity – when it approaches a protected doorway, it electronically requests access through dormakaba’s exos access-management system. The system checks the robot’s permissions before automatically unlocking the door.

Operators can therefore determine where the robot is allowed to go, when it can enter a particular area and which inspection tasks it is authorized to perform. The approach is intended to integrate the robot into existing security infrastructure rather than create a separate access system for machines.

One concern with autonomous robots moving through restricted areas, though, is the possibility that a person could simply follow behind the machine. ANYbotics says the system does not disable or bypass existing anti-tailgating measures, allowing mantraps, interlocks, cameras, and security personnel to continue operating as they normally would.