Issue 40 Unmanned Systems Technology October/November 2021 ANYbotics ANYmal D l AI systems focus l Aquatic Drones Phoenix 5 l Space vehicles insight l Sky Eye Rapier X-25 l FlyingBasket FB3 l GCS focus l AUVSI Xponential 2021

34 Dossier | ANYbotics ANYmal D processing the data themselves. “The ANYmal D does not need a continuous wi-fi or 4G/LTE connection, because it takes care of all the onboard computing needed for autonomy and inspection analytics,” Fankhauser says. “That means the robot will continue its mission if there’s no connection, but it will still report in real time if there is a connection issue, and buffer the data and then deliver it later when connectivity has been re-established.” Dr Mauerer adds, “Even though the ANYmal has a lot of room for data storage and processing right now, we work with our customers to integrate the data and reports from the robot with their on-premises or cloud-based data management system, be it SAP, Azure, AWS, Google or others.” Future plans Growing use of cloud computing and storage across heavy industry is spurring intensive API development between ANYbotics and its customers, and the company’s software team has grown considerably larger than its hardware team as a result. “The range of systems customers use is enormous, and we expect that in the future they’ll need to be able to do complex things such as polarising our point clouds or doing automated progress monitoring using lots of our photographs, all within their cloud servers,” Dr Mauerer says. “Fortunately, our inspection reports and point clouds are machine-readable and transferable over any remote links.” Major hardware evolutions are still planned, however. Fankhauser says IECEx- and ATEX-compliant versions of the ANYmal D are now in the works, for clients seeking the utmost safety during inspections of potentially explosive oil and gas installations. “That entails a major design overhaul, with fundamental implications for how we construct the ANYmal, but we’ve been working on it with our partner Petronas for a long time now,” he says. “We have the prototypes in-house and expect to make them commercially available next year.” The company is pondering other modifications, such as robotic arms for opening doors and turning valves. Fankhauser expects such capabilities to be impossible for indoor UAVs for many decades to come, regardless of how AI or power technology improve in the future. October/November 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology ANYmal D Four-legged UGV 50 kg 930 × 890 × 530 mm (890 mm tall when standing or walking, 470 mm tall when lying against the ground) 8th Gen Intel Core i7 (six-core) CPU Lithium-ion battery Maximum endurance: 90 minutes Maximum speed: 4.7 kph (1.3 m/s) Maximum incline: 45 º (including staircases) Some key suppliers Batteries: SBS CPUs: Congatec Middleware: ROS Noetic Electric motors: Maxon motor 3D cameras: Intel RealSense Lidar: Velodyne Optical zoom cameras: Sony Thermal cameras: FLIR LED: Cree SSDs: Swissbit Cable harnesses: Murrelektronik Connectors: Murrelektronik Specifications The ANYmal has sufficient autonomy to operate without a constant wi-fi or cellular link; each facility’s wi-fi can be used solely for periodically delivering survey analysis reports