Autonomous navigation for inspection robots

For ExRobotics, we integrated our navigation software on their ExR-1 robot. This enabled the robot to navigate a tank farm completely autonomously. The functionality was tested and demonstrated at an actual tank farm in Pernis.

Iwan de Waard (ExRobotics): “With RUVU, we were able to make our robot autonomous in only a few months time. Fantastic to see that RUVU is able to transfer the latest in scientific knowledge to a real-world application.”

The ExR-1 uses Swift Navigation‘s GPS-RTK system to determine its position at centimeter level. This enables an operator to define a precise route for the robot to follow, or use geofencing to make sure the robot stays within a specified area. An XSens IMU was added to estimate the pose of the robot, so it can climb and descend slopes. Finally, an Intel RealSense depth camera is used for environment perception. This way, the robot can avoid driving into objects, people, or off cliffs. The RUVU navigation software allows for smooth navigation along the route, operator intervention and teleoperation, navigation to custom goals, and obstacle avoidance.