Zurich-based ANYbotics launched ANYmal X, an explosion-protected legged inspection robot now shipping to oil, gas and chemical customers, after testing with majors including BP, Equinor and Shell since 2023.
ANYbotics announced the launch of ANYmal X on October 27, an explosion-protected legged inspection robot that is now shipping to oil, gas and chemical customers including Equinor and DSM-Firmenich.
The Zurich-based company describes ANYmal X as the world's first legged inspection robot built for explosive atmospheres, designed to automate routine inspection rounds in hazardous areas that remain off-limits to standard robots. BP, Equinor, Shell, PETRONAS, Petrobras, BASF and SLB have tested the robot since 2023 in hundreds of onshore and offshore missions under an Early Access Program. Its payload combines a zoom camera, a 640 by 512 radiometric thermal camera, an acoustic imager and a microphone, with an optional gas-sensing module, and the company lists more than three hours of battery runtime, the ability to climb 45-degree stairs and operation from minus 10 to 50 degrees Celsius.
ANYbotics said Bureau Veritas, an independent notified body, examined the design and issued an ATEX EU-type examination certificate covering Zones 1 and 2, Gas Group IIB, temperature class T4 and Category 2G, with IECEx certification to follow with first production. The robot is not intended for Zone 0, explosive dust atmospheres or IIC gases such as hydrogen and acetylene, and charging and nitrogen refilling take place outside the hazardous area.
The launch, the customer list, the sensor package and the certification details all come from the company's announcement as reported by Unite.AI, and the specifications are marked preliminary by the company itself. The claim that ANYmal X is the world's first legged robot for explosive atmospheres is the company's description, not an independently verified record, and the certification account rests on the company's statement that Bureau Veritas examined the design.
Hazardous-zone inspection today still means sending people in on foot with protective equipment, handheld gas detectors and entry permits, because standard robots are banned from those areas. If ANYmal X performs as described, plant operators gain a continuous, standardised record of asset health for digital facility models. ANYbotics, SLB and Kuwait Oil Company will give the robot and its industrial AI stack their first public showing at ADIPEC 2026.