Confined and hazardous environments exist in many industries, including the nuclear sector where maintenance, inspection and repair are some of the most important services with scenarios such as the maintenance of aged objects that can be especially challenging and expensive.

In the field of industrial inspection, checking the condition and integrity of plants, bridges, equipment, pipework, tanks, containers… is time-consuming but nonetheless essential as failure - or faulty assets can lead to dangerous working conditions and costly unplanned outages to repair.

However, there are many bespoke technologies for carrying out inspection and maintenance in extreme environments to help ensure the integrity of materials and infrastructure. The help of modern robots, in particular, can help to allow better decision-making on part of the asset owners.

That said, without bespoke development, only a very small number of robotic platforms have been shown to be fit for extreme conditions while still be modular, adaptable to a range of conditions and scenarios and, importantly, repeatedly perform in a safe and reliable way.

These cutting-edge technologies, benefiting from ingenious design coupled with machine learning and a high level of automation, now can provide reliable digital data in the safest possible manner, even in complex environments.