NEW technology will enable offshore workers to talk to and text robots working around oil and gas platforms.
The new method of communication means staff can send speech or text queries to autonomous robots and receive replies in English in real time, rather than using computer codes.
Researchers believe the system – named Miriam (Multimodal Intelligent inteRactIon for Autonomous systeMs) – will help build trust in the use of robots on and under rigs, as workers will be better able to understand their actions.
Developed by the Offshore Robotics for the Certification of Assets (Orca) Hub – a consortium of five universities led by Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh along with engineering software firm Phusion IM and data science company Merkle Aquila – Miriam will initially work with a tracked robot at Total’s Shetland Gas Plant. Helen Hastie, professor of computer science at Heriot-Watt and an Orca Hub work package lead, said: “When robots have an autonomous element, it means they sense the environment and can make certain decisions by themselves.
“However, there is currently a communication barrier between robots and their human supervisors in relation to the reasoning behind system actions. This is particularly problematic in remote, highly challenging and hazardous environments such as offshore, which can involve multiple vehicles and platforms.
“Miriam has been designed to be intuitive and as easy to use as possible to ensure those working in environments such as offshore platforms can easily adopt the technology.
“For example, a supervisor can text or speak a question to Miriam and receive a vehicle status update – an update on where the robot is and even what it is doing and why. If the robot has stopped moving, this might be because its battery is low or it has hit an obstacle it wasn’t expecting.
“A clear explanation for this behaviour saves the human operator time and increases their confidence in the robot, reducing the need to abort missions unnecessarily. In this way, appropriate trust and teamwork between the human and robot is strengthened.”
Kris Kydd, head of robotics at Total E&P UK, said the company believes robots have a “huge amount” to offer the industry. He said: “We are pioneering their use on oil and gas sites and this collaboration is helping us to make significant progress.
“This announcement is the first important step towards making the actions of autonomous robots clear and understandable. Robots offer immediate advantages such as increased safety and efficiency. In the long-term, they offer us new ways of working and are limited only by our imagination.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here