Abstract
Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors:“A complex industrial facility such as a petrochemical refiner y, chemical plant, etc., may include myriadcomponents that require regular insp ection and/or maintenance. These tasks, which traditionally havebeen performed by humans, can be tedious, repetitive, error prone, and even dangerous. For exam ple,many process automation facilities include areas that pose increased risks to human personnel and/or ofaccidents, such as explosion-proof (“ex-proof”) are as. Many of these inspection and maintenance tasksare increasingly being delega ted to robots, including ground-based robots and unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) . However, this increasing reliance on robots also introduces various challenges , such as how tokeep a fleet of robots in working order efficiently and effecti vely, with minimal disruption of the robots’duties.
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