Iron roughnecks

When we think about our future workforce, perhaps one of the hottest topics of the moment is the rise of collaborative robots.

While we prepare for the co-existence of automated and human workers, we’re also placing robots in some of the world’s most

remote and far-flung working environments.

Located on the Norwegian North Sea, there’s something different about Equinor’s Oseberg H platform. With no toilets, living

quarters or coffee break facilities, this oil rig was not built with human workers in mind. Remotely operated from the Oseberg

field centre eight kilometres away, this is the world’s first fully automated oil and gas platform.

No man’s land

There are many factors that make offshore the perfect candidate for unmanned automation. Inherently dangerous operations, long

stints at sea and remote locations make for unattractive working conditions. With an eroding human workforce, the industry is

increasingly turning to robotics to carry out its operations.

For instance, Swiss robotics company, ANYbotics, has developed a four-legged robot fitted with a sensor head to carry out monitoring

duties offshore. Named the ANYmal, it’s pilot installation in 2018 proved that the robot is capable of autonomously performing a range

of inspection tasks, including thermal measurements and checks on water levels.

We may not be handing the reigns over to four-legged robots any time soon, but achieving autonomous offshore operations is certainly in our reach.

We still have a lot of PLC/DCS/TSI/ESD Module in stock, contact us quickly for prices.