Water and wastewater
The water industry operates many facilities that are rarely staffed and yet must be inspected regularly: pumping stations, stormwater overflow tanks, elevated reservoirs, outstations. Every inspection means a journey. This is the same starting point as with unmanned substations – and the same economic lever.
Inspection tasks at wastewater treatment plants: thermal and acoustic capture of pumps, blowers and agitators, visual checks of screens and grit chambers for blockages, condition of aeration equipment, reading of measuring points, checking foam formation and the appearance of the activated sludge, visual inspection of pipelines and valves for leaks.
One particularity shapes the industry: hydrogen sulphide. It forms regularly in wastewater facilities, is heavier than air, collects in shafts and depressions and is life-threatening even in low concentrations – while its characteristic smell is no longer perceived at higher concentrations. A robot with gas sensors can carry out preliminary reconnaissance here before staff enter an area. This is one of the few cases in which the safety gain clearly exceeds the economic benefit.
Important here: the ability to detect gas does not qualify a device for operation in an Ex zone. The two are frequently confused.
Further reading: Explosion protection and mobile robotics – with a procedure for determining zone boundaries within a plant.
Change log (1)
- 5 October 2026 Initial publication First publication of the English version.