Swiss cement producer Vigier Ciment has deployed ANYbotics’ ANYmal quadruped robot to automate inspections at its 150-year-old cement plant.

Operating autonomously every night, the robot navigates narrow stairways, dusty environments, and high-temperature areas to inspect more than 450 predefined checkpoints across six levels and three mills.

Equipped with onboard sensors, ANYmal scans equipment for structural defects, overheating, and gas leaks without human supervision.

Since entering service in early 2025, the robot has completed more than 33,000 inspections, helping reduce worker exposure to hazardous conditions while improving maintenance coverage across the facility.

Robot spots faults

ANYbotics’ quadruped robot ANYmal is demonstrating how autonomous inspection systems can improve industrial maintenance by combining mobility, sensing, and data analytics in challenging environments.

Deployed at Vigier Ciment, the robot performs fully autonomous inspections across a large production facility containing more than 1,000 machines spread over multiple floors and processing areas. Since entering operation in early 2025, ANYmal has conducted more than 33,000 inspections, covering over 450 predefined checkpoints across three mills and six levels without requiring human supervision, reports Techeblog.

According to the firm, the deployment highlighted four discoveries that reshaped maintenance operations at the Vigier plant. During an inspection, a cracked crusher foundation was identified before it could trigger a week-long shutdown, preventing an estimated $630,000 in lost production. Thermal monitoring detected a bearing temperature rising toward 140°C, allowing maintenance teams to schedule an eight-hour repair instead of responding to a costly emergency failure.

Furthermore, gas sensing technology also revealed ammonia exposure levels in unloading bays, providing visibility into a previously unmeasured safety risk. In addition, acoustic imaging detected false-air leaks in filtration systems located 50 meters above ground, enabling targeted corrective action and improved plant efficiency.

“In 16 months, with zero robot breakdowns, it has helped the maintenance team protect uptime, keep technicians out of hazardous zones, and recover more than the program costs to run,” said ANYbotics in a YouTube video description.

Autonomous monitoring boost

ANYmal combines autonomous mobility with a range of industrial inspection sensors, allowing it to monitor equipment health across complex production environments without human supervision. Roughly the size of a large dog and weighing more than 110 pounds (50 kilograms), the quadruped robot is designed to navigate industrial facilities that include staircases, narrow walkways, uneven surfaces, and confined spaces.

The robot dog carries multiple sensing systems to identify potential faults before they lead to equipment failures. Its visual inspection camera captures high-resolution images for detecting structural abnormalities such as cracks, oil leaks, corrosion, and other signs of wear. A thermal imaging camera continuously measures the temperature of critical assets, including bearings, motors, gearboxes, and rotating machinery, enabling early detection of overheating components. Additional payloads include a gas sensor that monitors ammonia levels and an acoustic imaging system capable of locating compressed-air leaks, faulty seals, and filter issues from distances of up to 50 meters.

Using onboard perception and navigation technologies, ANYmal autonomously follows inspection routes, climbs stairways, avoids obstacles, and reaches locations that would otherwise require time-consuming manual checks. The robot performs inspections around the clock, including nights and weekends, significantly increasing monitoring frequency compared with traditional maintenance routines.

Data collected during patrols is automatically uploaded to ANYbotics’ Data Navigator software platform. The system aggregates sensor readings, analyzes trends, compares current measurements with historical baselines, and flags anomalies that may indicate emerging failures. Maintenance teams receive automated reports highlighting critical issues, allowing them to prioritize repairs based on condition data rather than fixed schedules.

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