Exactly 100 years after the term “robot” was first used in a 1920 play, Percepto marks a significant milestone in the evolution of remote industrial operations with the release of our Percepto AIM platform – the world’s first fully autonomous, end-to-end visual data collection and analysis solution for large-scale industrial sites, powered by robots. Backed by industry titans like the Koch Brothers, who believe in our product and potential, we’re shaping the future of remote operations here and now.
Who needs remote operations?
Even before the pandemic, remote operations were something large-scale industrial and critical infrastructure players aspired to. From a safety perspective, the use case is clear: viable remote oversight and control of dangerous industrial sites and equipment simply keeps humans out of harm’s way.
But what’s powering today’s drive for remote operations is not just safety, as important as that is. Rather it’s both safety and a clear and compelling business case. The ability to remotely monitor and control inspections in distant locations, and to do so for multiple sites from one control center, has direct impact on both top and bottom lines.
Now, Percepto has reached a new milestone in the evolution of remote inspection and monitoring. No longer partially possible, remote inspections are now technologically viable, accepted by regulators, and cost-effective. The reason? Our Percepto AIM platform enables the next generation of truly autonomous robotics, backed up by AI-powered analytics and decision making. Already, companies across the globe are relying on on-site robotic solutions controlled from a distance for mission-critical security and operational activities.
But the road to truly autonomous robotics for remote operations has not always been smooth. There have been significant barriers to adoption along the way. Here’s what I mean:
The long path to effective remote ops
Industrial and infrastructure companies have long sought ways to lower the risk of business disruption through visual monitoring of the site assets and infrastructure. This has driven the widespread adoption of remote sensors and meters, fixed security cameras, and access control solutions. The result has been a river of data that – once interpreted by teams of analysts – could positively contribute to safety, security, and productivity. Yet while this data does have an operational impact, it is very limited in scope, frequency and efficiency.
The reason? Existing sensing solutions offer a static operational picture. You can’t have a camera, sensor or meter everywhere – and thus there are many locations and pieces of vital equipment in these very dynamic (and often dangerous) environments that effectively remain unmonitored. In addition to these blind spots, visual and operational data is not interpreted in real time, and often gets lost in siloed workflows that leave key decision makers in the dark.
Forward-thinking companies have begun integrating advanced autonomous air and ground robotic solutions into their operational awareness efforts. Yet aside from a few notable industry leaders (like Australia’s Rio Tinto), most companies have not yet been able to achieve the consistent and holistic level of asset monitoring that could actually minimize the number of human beings needed on-site at multiple sites – nor manage these sites from one centralized location.
The good news is that autonomous technology, AI-powered visual data analysis, and advanced workflows are changing this. And Percepto is proud to be leading this revolution.
Meet Percepto AIM
Percepto looked at the bigger picture, and realized that the 360-degree real-time situational awareness required for true remote operations was achievable. To do so, industrial sites needed to be able to aggregate visual data from multiple fixed and (especially) ground and aerial robots that can collect outdoor and indoor data. This data needed to be collected and interpreted in real time, automatically distilled into actionable insights, and provided directly to relevant stakeholders – wherever they are located and whenever they need it.
That’s why we created Percepto AIM.
Percepto AIM enables any authorized stakeholder to initiate scheduled or ad hoc remote and autonomous data collection, get raw results in real-time, compare results against baseline historical data sets, and get timely reports offering AI-powered insights anywhere in the world, or in the remote ops control center.
Most granularly, AIM enables – for the first time – integrated control of and data collection from most leading autonomous robotic solutions – including drones and ground-based robots.
This is the game changer for the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Because it enables truly end-to-end robotics-powered automation of inspections and monitoring at industrial sites. Moreover, AIM enables any authorized stakeholder to request visual data collection and analysis. This effectively democratizes access to robotically-collected and automatically-interpreted data – enabling domain specialists to remotely detect risks earlier, enhance measurement accuracy, spot trends faster and achieve better situational awareness.
And the true beauty of AIM is that what works at one site works equally well at multiple sites. A key driver for companies to adopt remote operations is the ability to monitor a number of sites from one location. This enables them to centralize efforts, reduce costs and raise the efficiency of inspection and monitoring efforts.
The bottom line: robust remote operations for industrial sites
Robotics is here to stay, as is the dire need for viable and robust remote operations. Autonomous robots are already enabling package delivery, streamlining warehouse operations, and even helping alleviate the strain of social distancing on vulnerable populations.
Now Percepto AIM brings these benefits to remote and massive industrial sites. We deliver persistent and consistent autonomous high-quality visual data collection, automated data upload, sifting and analysis and easy integration with existing or third-party visual data collection robots and devices. By fully automating industrial site inspection and monitoring data flows – from capture to insights – AIM enables industrial stakeholders to enjoy the fruits of the ongoing remote robotic revolution.
