The “dog” in question a Spot by American company BostonDynamics. The experimentation started about a year ago at Naval Group’s Lorient shipyard where the FDI frigates are currently being built.
According to Thomas Domenigoni, Technological Studies Manager in the R&D department and working on the “factory of the future” initiative “as part of the initial experimentations, we wanted to make sure that such a robot can go anywhere, be it inside our workshops or aboard our vessels. We focused on testing its mobility.”
The experimentation is now looking at use cases: How can the robot help Naval Group, its workers and engineers in the production of vessels. The main application being considered so far include:
- Feed data to the digital twin of the frigate with 3D data
- Predictive maintenance
- Risk prevention / Roundsman robot
To achieve the above “missions”, the robot can be fitted with a wide array of sensors such as 3D scanners, 360° cameras and thermal sensors.
For the time being, the robot dog is used on the FDI program exclusively. In the coming weeks, it will continue to be used after the launch of the first FDI, during the outfitting phase, as well as for the second FDI (the first FDI HN) following its keel laying. “This proves that this technology can be useful at any stage of the construction of the ship and that the robot can find its way around ships no matter what their level of completion” explained Thomas Domenigoni.
Should the experimentation prove fruitful, the R&D project will transition to an industrialization phase and fleets of robot dogs will likely be affected to Naval Group programs or industrial sites.
“It is an amazing tool and I have good hope that its industrialization will go quickly.”
Thomas Domenigoni, Technological Studies Manager in the R&D department
