ANYbotics adds door access for ANYmal inspection robots

ANYbotics has introduced automated door access for its ANYmal robot fleet, extending inspection routes across more areas of industrial sites.

The Zurich-based robotics company has partnered with dormakaba and LEGIC Identsystems to enable its four-legged inspection robots to pass through both unlocked and locked doors using existing access systems. The approach targets sites in sectors including energy, metals, mining and chemicals, where closed doors have limited autonomous inspections to individual rooms or isolated zones.

The new set-up covers two types of door access. For unlocked doors, ANYmal can trigger retrofitted dormakaba door operators through radar-based presence detection. For restricted doors, the robot uses a digital credential provided through LEGIC technology and requests access through dormakaba's management system, which decides whether to unlock the door based on predefined permissions.

The arrangement allows plant operators to apply the same controls and audit trail to robots as they do to employees. Instead of leaving barriers open or creating workarounds, the system keeps existing fire and security controls in place while allowing the robot to continue its route.

"Our customers do not buy robots, they buy a solution to their operational challenges: less unplanned downtime and fewer people in hazardous areas. The impact is measured in how many critical assets our robots inspect, how often, and how reliably. Doors were a hard limit on that coverage. With dormakaba and LEGIC, ANYmal can move through doors like any authorised colleague, under the same rules and the same audit trail. The access-controlled door pilot has proven this works in a live operating environment, and we will now make that function available as an add-on across the entire ANYmal fleet," said Péter Fankhauser, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ANYbotics.

How it works

For doors that do not require credentials, ANYmal approaches a doorway on its planned route and is detected by a radar sensor. That signal triggers a dormakaba ED 100 or ED 250 operator, allowing the door to open and close once the robot has passed through.

This option can be added to existing doors without structural changes and can be used with indoor, outdoor and fire-rated specifications. dormakaba's local teams handle site surveys, hardware quotations and installation for customers using the system.

Locked doors require a different process. ANYmal carries a LEGIC security payload that acts as a digital identity for the robot. When it reaches a protected doorway, the robot requests access electronically through dormakaba's exos access management system, which logs the movement and determines whether access should be granted.

Live pilot

The access-controlled version was tested at GE Vernova's Whitegate power plant in County Cork. According to the companies, the robot operated for several weeks in a live plant environment, repeatedly passing through controlled doors and completing inspection routes without manual intervention.

"The door passage solution allows ANYmal to move seamlessly between plant zones without compromising safety or security rules," said Brian Carroll, Maintenance Engineer, GE Vernova Whitegate.

"By letting the door open automatically for the robot, we can automate routine inspection runs across the entire facility while keeping fire and security barriers intact," Carroll added.

ANYbotics said the new access-controlled payload add-on will be offered to current deployments and future ANYmal hardware platforms later this year. The company did not provide pricing details.

Broader push

The development reflects a wider effort by industrial robotics suppliers to fit autonomous machines into established plant systems rather than requiring operators to alter site layouts. Access control has been one of the more practical barriers for mobile robots in industrial environments, particularly where facilities are divided into multiple security and safety zones.

Jacob Euler-Rolle, Product Management, Workflow Integration at ANYbotics, said removing that barrier expands the usefulness of inspection robots in plants where the most important assets are often behind controlled access points.

"Inspection only delivers value if the robot can reach the asset, and a closed door was the one obstacle that stopped our robots from covering the most critical parts of a plant," said Jacob Euler-Rolle, Product Management, Workflow Integration, ANYbotics.

"Solving it with LEGIC and dormakaba means ANYmal can now inspect where it matters most, without rebuilding any infrastructure," Euler-Rolle added.

dormakaba framed the project as part of a shift in access management beyond human users. "The joint pilot illustrates how access solutions are evolving beyond traditional applications for human users. By securely authenticating and authorising autonomous machines, access management can become an important enabler for the next generation of industrial automation," said David Fuller, Chief Innovation Officer, dormakaba.

LEGIC also pointed to the role of digital identity in machine access. "This is about authenticating autonomous systems; issuing a trusted identity, in effect a badge for the robot. With this project, we are taking a major step into physical AI, extending LEGIC's secure access credential technologies from people and objects to machines," said Mehdi Elhaoussine, General Manager, LEGIC Identsystems AG.