Hangzhou-based Deep Robotics (云深处), a quadrobot startup, recently collaborated with TBNet (天宝耐特), a firm making navigation and positioning products, to test the ability of its quadrobots to perform mapping tasks in complex environments.
Equipped with three-dimensional reconstruction techniques and GNSS mapping technologies from TBNet, the quadrobot, named X20, was deployed to outdoor and indoor construction sites, a cluster pylons, railway, underground garage and historical buildings to undergo a series of tests, and came back with data gathered about these places.
Teams from Deep Robotics and TBNet then sat down to analyze the data, in an effort to realize the “seamless integration” of quadrobots with construction-only sensors and work procedures, said Deep Robotics.
By extension, the goal of the joint test is also to see if the quadrobot is able to assist or replace humans in dangerous terrains, extreme weather and emergency rescue operations.
Engineering workers often need to grapple with health or safety risks in the form of filthy air and slippery slope. The use of robots, and especially agile quadrobot, could reduce the costs of and lower the risks associated with operating in a complex environment.
In a company statement, Deep Robotics said it looks to build synergies with TBNet in a bid to improve the safety levels of mapping and other types of missions.
According to Deep Robotics, X20 has an outstanding capability to adapt to complex topography, navigating messy construction sites, muddy mining caves, staircases and other uneven surfaces with ease.
In addition, the quadrobot can surmount obstacles 20 cm high and ascend a 35-degree slope, move adroitly in all directions and leave tiny footprints on the ground. It is fit to perform mapping tasks in adverse weather conditions such as rainstorm, sand dust, low temperature, thanks to IP66 industry-grade protection — meaning the gadget is water-resistant.
Combining AI algorithms, a built-in depth camera and multi-beam LiDars, X20 is capable of autonomous obstacle avoidance and automates repetitive, tedious missions including scanning, measuring and supervision of engineering work. Deep Robotics has labeled this contraption as a “full-terrain, all-weather” robot for mapping work.
Deep Robotics claims to be a global leader in the quadrobot sector and also Asia’s first quadrobot developer focused on industrial application. It X-series four-legged robots have been adopted for electricity inspection, industrial manufacturing, metallurgical plant inspection, flood risk check and emergency rescue.
