Rockwell partners with Taurob for ‘next phase of industrial automation’
16 October 2024 
Rockwell Automation has signed an agreement with an Austrian specialist in mobile inspection robots to develop end-to-end robotic automation technologies that, they say, will “herald the next phase in industrial automation and transformation”. Vienna-based Taurob designs and manufactures tracked robots for inspection, maintenance and data-collection duties at industrial sites.
The partnership between Taurob and Rockwell’s digital services business, Kalypso, will help industrial organisations to move towards autonomous operations, thus enhancing their efficiency. It will bring together Rockwell’s strengths in robotic automation and digital twin technologies, with Taurob’s expertise in ground-based robots for industrial inspection.
Taurob’s robots can operate in harsh environmental conditions to gather video, audio and sensor data, detect gas leaks and manipulate valves, while adhering to safety standards. Its Atex-certified robots also offer good resistance to hot environments and runtimes of up to four hours. Its portfolio includes mobile robots with arms that can lift up to 75kg, and end-effectors that can deliver up to 150Nm of torque and gripping forces of more than 100N.
Together, Kalypso and Taurob plan to offer holistic systems including robots, sensors, supervision software, and data analysis using AI/ML. This will allow organisations to move towards autonomous inspection and maintenance, thus increasing safety, cutting their operating costs, and improving their production throughputs.
The technologies are expected to be particularly attractive to sectors such as oil and gas, mining and chemicals because of their hazardous working environments.
“Our partnership with Rockwell will become a game-changer with respect to scaling our unique Atex-certified robots around the world,” says Taurob’s co-founder and managing director, Matthias Biegl. “Our respective expertise complements one another to offer an integrated solution, in addition to which we will be able to streamline sales and marketing efforts to optimise and enhance efficiency for our clients on a variety of industrial sites.”
Matt Graves, Kalypso’s digital principal for process industries, points out that “in working towards the goal of autonomous operations, many industrial companies have considered the design of facilities, connectivity, digital solutions, and artificial intelligence, but manual inspection of facilities is still commonplace. As a next phase in industrial automation, companies are now looking at how to automate fleets of inspection robots using digital twin and IIoT technologies. This partnership will be a huge step in helping our clients meet their efficiency, net-zero and safety goals.”
Taurob, founded in 2010, introduced the world’s first Atex-certified mobile robot in 2012. It currently employs more than 50 people at its Vienna headquarters. As well as the robots, it develops cloud-based applications for operation and inspection tasks at industrial sites. It is a member of the Dutch Dietsmann group, which specialises in industrial operations and maintenance for continuous-production plants.
