The DORIS Offshore Robot: Recent Developments and Real-World Demonstration Results

Abstract

This paper presents the development progress of DORIS, an autonomous rail-guided robot designed for inspection and monitoring of Oil and Gas (O&G) facilities. The robot functionalities, electromechanical design, lightweight manipulator, and software architecture are presented, along with possible future tasks and system expansions. The system was first tested in a laboratory environment to validate its concepts and, then, field tests in an industrial plant demonstrated some of its functionalities. DORIS was able to fully navigate on the 3D rail by teleoperation via Wi-Fi, map the environment with a laser scanner, and autonomously detect video and audio anomalies. For the next phase of development, the robot must operate within offshore facilities and classified areas, so that protection standards against explosion and ingress of water and dust must be complied, as shown in a preliminar certification assessment.