drive.tech | maxon's corporate blog about drive technology

From oil & gas installations to submarines, structures operating in deep sea conditions need regular inspection. Remote operated vehicles (ROVs) make this process much safer and less expensive, and they rely on scanning technology, which is crucial to data collection. Precise motion control is helping a new subsea inspection device achieve highly accurate inspection with the fastest-yet speeds of data collection.

Drone technology continues to advance depending on specific applications. For this article, we’ll be looking at compact drones used in a variety of applications that need continuous and autonomous inspection of chimneys, shafts, and tanks.

It’s important to have people who are there to help others in an emergency, but state-of-the-art technology can play a vital role too. For success in rescue operations, humans and machines must form a powerful duo. We join a search for missing persons with the Swiss Alpine Rescue team from the Engelberg rescue station.

Robotic pipe crawlers reaching the unreachable, discover the video.

Selecting a DC micromotor for use in applications from aerospace through to downhole drilling inspection, a 4pole motor has advantages. A 4pole design is stronger than a 2pole equivalent but can also fit within the same space and weight envelope. Greg Dutfield of maxon UK explains.

Remote offshore installations, dusty mines, dirty sewers: environments made by people for people. Yet operating them is dangerous. The solution? The robotic dog from ANYbotics, which can carry out inspections autonomously. We went to Zurich to visit one of the biggest robotics teams in Europe.

Wherever it goes, it is sure to attract attention. The red walking robot ANYmal provokes a reaction, which is why it also made it to the cover of the maxon magazine driven – representing the ever-increasing number of inspection robots worldwide.

Samir Bouabdallah is an expert in drone technology and founder of an exciting startup. How will the drone market develop, in his opinion, and what is required of the motors in the flying robots?

Radio Physics Solutions (RPS) is a small technology company based on the outskirts of Cambridge, UK. This unassuming company works on leading-edge surveillance technology and has already won several awards.

Hardness testers are used to check whether materials have the desired characteristics. These days, this is done in a fully automated, networked process.

It started as a project by two engineers who were close to retirement. Today, the modular inspection robots by Canadian company Inuktun are successfully in use all over the world.