ANYbotics has begun delivering its ANYmal X inspection robot for explosive atmospheres, first reported by Therobotreport. The robot targets routine inspections in oil, gas and chemical facilities, where ANYbotics says workers still enter hazardous zones on foot to check critical equipment such as pumps and valves because standard robots are barred.
ANYbotics says ANYmal X is built to comply with ATEX in Europe and IECEx globally. Certification required safeguards for high-power motors, a large battery, navigation cameras and sensors, while retaining the mobility to climb stairs; fixed equipment typically uses heavy enclosures or limits electrical energy to prevent ignition.
The engineering balance is specific: ignition protection must coexist with the power, sensors and mobility a walking inspection robot needs.
ANYbotics says sealed, nitrogen-filled chambers house the AI computer and inspection equipment; flameproof casings protect all 12 leg actuators and the battery, while energy barriers cover charging and data transmission. Thermal, visual, acoustic and gas sensors detect overheating, leaks, abnormal noise and equipment wear, logging each reading against its asset.
ANYbotics says undetected equipment failures cost the world’s 500 largest companies roughly $1.4 trillion each year in preventable downtime. Siemens says one hour of unplanned downtime in oil and gas can cost up to $500,000.
NIOSH found U.S. extraction workers face a fatality rate seven times the national average. ANYbotics says inspectors still need personal protective equipment, handheld gas detectors and entry permits to check critical equipment on foot in hazardous zones.
ANYmal X combines autonomous navigation, industrial AI and integrations that turn findings into maintenance work orders. It runs on Shift, which schedules missions and organizes findings by asset; ANYbotics says it connects with plant-maintenance software including SAP, Yokogawa and SLB.
ANYbotics says more than 50 power, metals and materials customers use its inspection system for over 120,000 autonomous inspections every month. BP, Equinor, Shell, PETRONAS, Petrobras, BASF and SLB have tested ANYmal X across hundreds of onshore and offshore missions through the company’s Early Access Program since 2023.
ANYbotics says those trials helped refine the robot now being delivered to customers. The company, SLB and Kuwait Oil Co. will show ANYmal X and its full industrial AI stack publicly for the first time at ADIPEC 2026.