Live at ACHEMA 2022, autonomous mobile robots will compete to capture sensor images, take samples and climb industrial stairs. In cooperation with BASF, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck and Wacker Chemie, INVITE GmbH is conducting this open-innovation competition under the patronage of Namur e.V..

The search is on for an autonomous service robot named Andy that is capable of performing 24/7 recurring tasks, such as safety tours in chemical and pharmaceutical plants.

Particular challenges include safely navigating industrial facilities with obstacles, such as stairs, or accurately collecting data through image recognition of displays, as well as simple interactions. The background of the idea is thus to support employees, increase safety and improve the availability of production facilities.

Six teams will participate with walking robots from Boston Dynamics and AnyBotics, a moving platform from Omron, as well as self-developed mobile platforms. For more information on the participating teams, visit www.aira-challenge.com.