Field Engineer

SAP ANYbotics partner to accelerate Physical AI adoption in industrial manufacturing. 2026-04-02 by AICC Heavy industry continues to depend on manual inspections of hazardous and contaminated facilities. This approach is not only costly but also poses significant safety risks to human workers. Swiss robotics manufacturer ANYbotics and enterprise software leader SAP are collaborating to revolutionize this industry practice. ANYbotics' four-legged autonomous robots will integrate directly with SAP's backend enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Rather than operating as isolated assets, these robots function as mobile data-gathering nodes within an industrial Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. This partnership demonstrates how hardware innovation can seamlessly integrate with established enterprise workflows. Highlighting this industry trend, SAP is sponsoring the AI & Big Data Expo North America at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, California, which is co-located with the IoT Tech Expo and Intelligent Automation & Physical AI Summit. Addressing critical industrial challenges. Equipment failures at chemical plants or offshore rigs result in substantial financial losses. While routine human inspections aim to identify issues early, they face inherent limitations - inspectors experience fatigue, and industrial facilities span vast areas. Conversely, robots can conduct continuous patrols, equipped with thermal imaging, acoustic sensors, and visual monitoring systems. When connected to SAP, an overheating pump automatically generates a maintenance request without human intervention. Eliminating reporting delays. Traditionally, problem identification and work order creation are disconnected processes. A technician might detect an unusual compressor noise, document it manually, and enter it into the system hours later. By the time parts are approved, critical equipment may have sustained irreparable damage. The ANYbotics-SAP integration eliminates this delay entirely. The robot's onboard AI processes sensory data in real-time, and upon detecting irregular motor frequencies, it communicates directly with SAP's asset management module via APIs. The system immediately verifies spare parts availability, calculates potential downtime costs, and schedules engineering resources. This automation ensures machinery assessment is based on consistent, objective data rather than subjective human judgment. Overcoming infrastructure limitations. Deploying robots in heavy industry differs significantly from office software installations - companies must navigate unreliable infrastructure. Industrial facilities typically suffer from poor internet connectivity due to thick concrete walls, metal scaffolding, and electromagnetic interference. The solution relies on edge computing architecture. Continuously streaming high-definition thermal video and LiDAR data to cloud servers requires excessive bandwidth. Instead, robots process most data locally, with onboard processors distinguishing between normal operations and dangerous conditions like overheating. Only critical fault information and location data are transmitted to SAP. To address network challenges, early adopters are deploying private 5G networks. This provides comprehensive coverage across expansive facilities where conventional Wi-Fi fails, while securing data transmission against interception. Security considerations. A mobile robot equipped with cameras represents a potential security vulnerability. Companies must implement zero-trust network protocols to continuously verify robot identity and restrict SAP module access. In the event of a security breach, the system must immediately sever connections to prevent lateral movement into corporate networks. Managing unstructured data. These robots generate vast amounts of unstructured data during operations. Converting raw audio and thermal imagery into structured SAP-compatible formats presents significant challenges. Without proper management, maintenance teams face alert fatigue. Overly sensitive robots may generate hundreds of false warnings daily, causing teams to ignore SAP dashboards entirely. IT departments must establish precise thresholds before system activation, defining what constitutes genuine maintenance tickets versus situations requiring monitoring. Implementations typically employ middleware solutions to translate robot telemetry into SAP-compatible data structures. This software filters noise, ensuring only legitimate issues reach the ERP system. The data lake storing this information must be organized for future machine learning initiatives. While immediate goals focus on equipment repair, the long-term objective is leveraging years of robot data to predict failures before they occur. Ensuring successful Physical AI deployment. The ANYbotics-SAP collaboration represents a significant advancement in industrial automation, transforming how facilities monitor critical infrastructure. By combining autonomous robotics with enterprise software integration, companies can achieve safer operations, reduced costs, and predictive maintenance capabilities that were previously unattainable.

Partnership for autonomous inspection robotics. Yokogawa and ANYbotics are joining forces to integrate Yokogawa's OpreX Robot Management Core into the ANYmal robot platform. The goal is the centralized management of autonomous inspection robots for industrial facilities, as well as greater efficiency and safety in plant operations. 30 Mar 2026 Japan's Yokogawa Electric Corporation and Switzerland's ANYbotics AG recently announced a strategic partnership. The goal of this collaboration is to integrate Yokogawa's OpreX Robot Management Core software into ANYbotics' ANYmal robot platform - including the explosion-proof ANYmal X model. By jointly managing explosion-proof and non-explosion-proof robots that perform autonomous inspections in industrial facilities, both companies aim to tap into new business opportunities in the oil & gas, energy, and metals sectors. An important step toward autonomous plant operations. OpreX Robot Management Core is a key product within Yokogawa's robotics solutions. The software helps operators run their plants more safely and efficiently. It integrates the management of various robot types that perform maintenance tasks previously carried out by humans. In conjunction with control systems, the collected data can be used to precisely control robots. This enables an important step toward autonomous plant operations. The current version of OpreX Robot Management Core supports ANYmal and is integrated into ANYbotics' existing proprietary software stack. "Animal-like" robot with heightened senses. ANYmal is an autonomous and remotely controllable four-legged inspection robot. It is equipped with high-quality sensors and enables perception capabilities that go beyond human senses. ANYmal was specifically developed for inspections in demanding industrial environments and is considered a leading quadruped robot in this field. It is IP67-certified and fully protected against the ingress of water and dust. Two models. ANYbotics currently offers two models: ANYmal D for highly mobile and autonomous inspections in indoor and outdoor areas, and ANYmal X, the world's first explosion-proof, walking inspection robot. It is certified for use in ATEX and IECEx Zone 1 environments. Several pilot installations of the ANYmal X prototype have already been successfully completed. The official market launch is planned for later this year. "A fully integrated solution" "This collaboration is an important milestone in our growth strategy, particularly with regard to our further expansion into the energy markets of Asia and the Middle East," says Dr. Péter Fankhauser, CEO of ANYbotics. "There is high demand there for innovative inspection solutions for hazardous environments. By integrating Yokogawa's OpreX Robot Management Core with our ANYmal robots, we offer operators a fully integrated solution. It enhances safety, reduces downtime, and supports operational excellence," Fankhauser continues. "Contributing to the further digitalization of inspection processes" "By leveraging the integrated use of OpreX Robot Management Core and ANYbotics' robust robotics technology, we can utilize our global network to support our customers throughout all phases of robot implementation - from planning through to operation and maintenance. In combination with our AI-based OpreX Plant Image Analyzer, we are also contributing to the further digitalization of inspection processes," adds Masaharu Maeda, Vice President, Executive Officer, and Head of the Solutions Business Division at Yokogawa Electric.