Demos: autonomous plant inspection with a quadruped robot

Key figures

By the numbers

~9 days

Early warning from thermography before the bearing reaches 85 °C

6 / 6

Correct readings in demo 2 (display, thermal, ultrasound, 2 valves and gauge)

Work orders raised by the robot on its own, with evidence

Collisions: the robot detected an unmapped pallet and re-planned

Demo 1 · Video

Basic patrol, start to finish

1 min 58 s · 3 points, vision reading of gauges and panel, MQTT telemetry to SCADA.

🎬 Download video (MP4)📡 MQTT telemetry (256 messages)

PI-101 · Pump P-101 · 4.2 bar · OK

PI-201 · Tank TK-201 · 8.3 bar · ALARM

CCM-01 · Panel · Fault · ALARM

Demo 2 · Video

Incipient pump failureNEW

2 min 30 s · Map and obstacle avoidance, digital display, thermography with trends, ultrasonic leak, valves, cross-diagnosis, work orders and automatic PDF report.

🎬 Download video (MP4)📄 PDF report generated by the robot📡 MQTT telemetry received by SCADA

FIT-101 · Flow · 42.7 m³/h · LOW

TT-102 · P-102 bearing · 79.1 °C · 85 °C in ~9 days

V-302 · Valve · CLOSED · must be open

PI-401 · North header · 5.1 bar · OK

Demo 1

Basic patrol: read and report

The first demo: 3 points, vision reading and MQTT telemetry.

🦿

Locomotion and navigation

Our own 500 Hz trot controller and waypoint navigation using the robot's position and heading.

👁️

Vision reading

Reads analog gauges with a max error of ±0.2 on a 0–10 scale and detects fault lamps on panels.

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Telemetry to SCADA

Status, readings and alarms as JSON over MQTT: 256 of 256 messages received.

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The same SDK as the real robot

Only official unitree_sdk2 channels (rt/lowcmd, rt/lowstate, rt/sportmodestate).

Demo 2 · What it does

From symptom to diagnosis, unprompted

The robot does not just read: it compares, correlates and acts.

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1Map-based navigation

Plans its route with A* on the plant map. Its depth camera detects a pallet that is not on the map and it takes the alternate route through the central aisle.

🌡️

2Thermography with trends

Measures 79 °C on the P-102 motor bearing. Not at the limit yet, but compared with previous patrols it rises 4.4 °C per week: 85 °C in ~9 days. It raises a predictive work order.

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3Listens for leaks

Its ultrasonic microphone (38–42 kHz) monitors the whole route. It detects and locates a steam leak at flange FL-12 and raises a work order.

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4Correlates findings

Reads low flow on display FIT-101 and finds valve V-302 closed. It concludes the valve explains the low flow and reports it to Operations.

Demo 2 results

What the robot found

Readings from the run in the video, exactly as they reached SCADA.

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FIT-101 · Discharge flow

Display: 42.7 m³/h (normal ~62). Low flow.

⚠ FINDINGSee evidence

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TT-102 · P-102 motor bearing

79.1 °C and rising: 85 °C in ~9 days. Predictive WO.

⚠ FINDINGSee thermography

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US-12 · Steam line

Ultrasound 53.4 dB vs 31 dB baseline next to flange FL-12. Leak WO.

⚠ FINDINGSee acoustic map

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V-302 · Discharge valve

CLOSED; must be open. Explains the low flow.

⚠ FINDINGSee evidence

🟢

V-301 · Discharge valve

Open, as expected.

✔ OKSee evidence

🟢

PI-401 · North header

5.1 bar, within range.

✔ OKSee evidence

Work order published by the robot over MQTT (topic bonum/planta_demo/robot/go2-01/orden_trabajo):

{"folio": "OT-20260924-01", "equipo": "Bomba P-102 (motor)", "falla": "Temperatura de rodamiento en ascenso: 79.1 °C (+4.4 °C/semana)", "prioridad": "Alta", "dias_a_limite": 9.4}

(Field names in Spanish, as used by our SCADA/CMMS integrations in Mexico.) At the end, the robot generates the patrol PDF report on its own.

Technology

What is behind the demos

Open tools and industrial standards; nothing closed or locked to one vendor.

Is it an animation? → No. It is a physics simulation (MuJoCo) with the official robot model: gravity, contacts, masses and torque limits. The robot walks because our controller keeps it balanced. If the controller fails, the robot falls.

Are the sensors real? → The color and depth cameras are rendered from the scene. The thermal camera and ultrasonic microphone are simulated models: per-equipment temperature and a sound level that decays with distance to the leak. On the real robot they are replaced by physical sensors.

What about the history? → The trend uses 6 previous weekly demo patrols. With the robot in a plant, its own patrols build the history. The trend logic is the same.

Does it integrate with my SCADA and CMMS? → Telemetry and work orders go out as JSON over MQTT. For OPC UA, Modbus or your CMMS API we add a gateway: that is BONUM's core automation work. PLC/SCADA is our specialty.

Roadmap