JLR’s EV build and test facility in Coventry has a four legged robotic dog named, of course, Rover, to monitor equipment.
The robot saves human colleagues time by spotting potential operational issues and equipment wear and tear early, ensuring test and development continues to run on schedule.
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It has its own ‘kennel’ at the plant, where it periodically lives and charges its 50V battery between shifts. The robot can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Fully automated to follow a range of preset routes, the robot conducts up to 24 patrols each day and night, using AI to physically open doors, ascend stairs and navigate high traffic.
Continuously taking measurements and inspecting valves and machinery, it eliminates the risk of human error in these tasks while allowing engineers to better spend their time analysing the results to make more insightful business and maintenance predictions or to perform repairs.
The quadruped is able to do so thanks to the natural dexterity afforded by its four legs and robot arm. These in turn are maximised by its onboard sensors ‘hearing’ potential gas leaks that would otherwise not be sensed by human ears, and using thermal sensors to evaluate battery temperatures quickly, ensuring technicians can continue their work safely.
JLR is considering future use scenarios for a fleet of robotic quadrupeds across its entire global industrial footprint.
The investment into robotics forms part of the luxury vehicle manufacturer’s wider GBP18bn investment into its Reimagine strategy with Lyons Park also proofing the use of plasma cleaning robots which remove microscopic dust particles from battery cells ahead of bonding which would otherwise not be visible to the human eye.
