Abstract
Deploying multi-robot systems for Inspection and
Maintenance (IM) operations offers several advantages, including
covering a large mission area and providing redundancy against
individual failure. These features are particularly relevant for IM
operations in offshore oil and gas platforms due to the extensive
number of sensors and equipment involved, as well as the high
level of fault-tolerant resilience required. This paper presents
preliminary experimental results of a multi-robot mission planning
system designed for performing autonomous inspection
at Equinor’s K-Lab Test Centre in Haugesund, Norway. The
high-level action planner is based on the Simultaneous Task
Planning (STP) algorithm. The STP planner has the capability
to compute plans for multi-robot systems, as it allows for
concurrent actions. The system can take into account high-level
actions and their expected durations, such as ”visiting a specific
location”, ”inspecting a sensor”, or ”taking a picture of a specified
component”. Additionally, STP can replan in real-time in case of
events such as the need to revisit a waypoint or low battery status.
Communication with the robots is achieved through Equinor’s
Integration and Supervisory Control of Autonomous Robots
(ISAR) framework, ensuring a fast and secure Wi-Fi connection.
The collision avoidance, guidance, and control system is handled
at the low-level layer of each robot. The proposed technique
was validated through field experiments involving two unmanned
ground robots performing an inspection round, which includes
visiting a sequence of predefined waypoints and incorporates
replanning for low battery situations. Two types of experiments
were conducted: one scenario where robots collaborated by
overlapping capabilities; and another scenario where robots
collaborated by combining capabilities.
Maintenance (IM) operations offers several advantages, including
covering a large mission area and providing redundancy against
individual failure. These features are particularly relevant for IM
operations in offshore oil and gas platforms due to the extensive
number of sensors and equipment involved, as well as the high
level of fault-tolerant resilience required. This paper presents
preliminary experimental results of a multi-robot mission planning
system designed for performing autonomous inspection
at Equinor’s K-Lab Test Centre in Haugesund, Norway. The
high-level action planner is based on the Simultaneous Task
Planning (STP) algorithm. The STP planner has the capability
to compute plans for multi-robot systems, as it allows for
concurrent actions. The system can take into account high-level
actions and their expected durations, such as ”visiting a specific
location”, ”inspecting a sensor”, or ”taking a picture of a specified
component”. Additionally, STP can replan in real-time in case of
events such as the need to revisit a waypoint or low battery status.
Communication with the robots is achieved through Equinor’s
Integration and Supervisory Control of Autonomous Robots
(ISAR) framework, ensuring a fast and secure Wi-Fi connection.
The collision avoidance, guidance, and control system is handled
at the low-level layer of each robot. The proposed technique
was validated through field experiments involving two unmanned
ground robots performing an inspection round, which includes
visiting a sequence of predefined waypoints and incorporates
replanning for low battery situations. Two types of experiments
were conducted: one scenario where robots collaborated by
overlapping capabilities; and another scenario where robots
collaborated by combining capabilities.