IndianOil partners Genrobotics to develop robotic tools for internal tank cleaning and inspection

IndianOil is funding a project to develop robotic tools through Genrobotics Oil & Gas Pvt Ltd – a Kerala-based Start-up – for safer cleaning & inspection of internal tanks in refineries.

Oil tanks in hydrocarbon industry installations such as Refineries, Pipelines and Marketing terminals are required to be inspected periodically and cleaned during shutdown. Cleaning & maintenance of petroleum tanks using conventional methods is a time-consuming process using humans which may be prone to safety issues. Use of robotic tools will eliminate human intervention inside the highly hazard-prone environment and enhance safety, efficiency & productivity of the tank-cleaning operation. In a seamless operation, the robotic unit, equipped with image sensing cameras, is inserted into the oil tank through the confined opening for cleaning & inspection. Going forward, robotic tools may be deployed for furnace convection zone cleaning, online bottom inspection of tanks & fire-fighting.

This project of Genrobotics is being funded by IndianOil under its Start-up Scheme. IndianOil is not only funding this Start-up project but also providing intellectual mentoring to validate Proof of Concept (PoC) to develop robotic tools for internal tank cleaning & inspection.

IndianOil Start-up Scheme is an initiative aimed at promoting promising start-ups with innovative ideas in the domestic hydrocarbon sector. A total of 12 Start-ups have been onboarded recently for funding in the third round of this Scheme.