ANYbotics ANYmal

Image: ANYbotics ANYmal quadruped robot - See ANYbotics official page

Overview

ANYmal is an industrial autonomous inspection quadruped robot developed at ETH Zurich’s Robotic Systems Lab (RSL) and commercialized through spinoff company ANYbotics founded in 2016. With IP67-rated robust design and autonomous navigation capabilities, it specializes in unmanned inspection tasks in harsh industrial environments such as oil/gas, mining, and power plants.

Item	Content
Manufacturer	ANYbotics (Switzerland, ETH Zurich spinoff) [Source]
Founded	2016
Use	Industrial facility autonomous inspection
Water/Dust Resistance	IP67 [Source]
Current Deployment	200+ units [Source]

Company Background: ANYbotics

From ETH Zurich to ANYbotics

ANYbotics was founded in 2016 as a spinoff company based on research achievements from ETH Zurich’s Robotic Systems Lab. ANYmal’s origins trace back to 2009, when ETH Zurich researchers began developing a series of quadruped robots, with the first ANYmal version completed in 2016 marking the start of commercialization.

Founding Members:

Marco Hutter (Professor, RSL Director)
Roland Siegwart (Professor)
Peter Fankhauser, Christian Gehring, Samuel Bachmann
Remo Diethelm, Andreas Lauber, Hanspeter Fassler

Research Support:

NCCR Robotics (Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research)
ARGOS Challenge
EU ECHORD++
ETH Pioneer Fellowship
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
European Research Council (ERC)

Company Growth (per press releases):

November 2024: San Francisco office established [Source]
December 2024: EUR 57 million funding round
May 2025: Switzerland Global Enterprise export award [Source]
September 2025: Climate Investment strategic investment (CHF 20 million)
2025: Over $150 million (approx. EUR 127 million) total cumulative investment [Source]
Early 2025: Approximately 200 employees, offices in Zurich and San Francisco

ANYmal Generational Evolution

ANYmal C (2019~)

ANYmal C is the first commercial version optimized for industrial inspection, providing high availability and stability. [IEEE Spectrum article]

Physical Specifications (per third-party catalog [DirectIndustry]):

Item	Value	Notes
Length	930 mm
Width	530 mm	Basic walking stance
Height (walking)	890 mm
Height (low stance)	470 mm
Weight	50 kg	55 kg with inspection payload

Computing:

2x Intel Core i7 8th Gen (6-core)
2x 8 GB RAM
Handles real-time gait control, mapping, autonomous navigation

ANYmal D (Current Generation)

ANYmal D is the current flagship model providing improved autonomy and mobility. [RobotsGuide details]

Physical Specifications (per third-party sources [RobotsGuide]):

Item	Value	Notes
Length	930 mm	Same as ANYmal C
Width	530 mm	Basic walking stance
Height (walking)	890 mm
Weight	~55 kg	Increases with inspection payload
Max Speed	4.68 km/h (1.3 m/s)	Omnidirectional movement
Payload	Up to 10 kg	For additional sensor mounting

Actuators [Source]:

12 electric series elastic actuators (ANYdrive)
Max torque: 85 Nm (per joint)
360-degree joint rotation possible
Precision torque control (torque resolution 8 mNm, position accuracy 0.025 degrees)
IP67 water/dust resistant
Robust impact protection design

Mobility Capabilities (performance varies by conditions):

Capability	Value	Notes
Max Slope	~30 degrees	Varies by ground conditions
Stair Angle	Up to 45 degrees	Standard stairs basis
Step Height	Up to 250 mm	Industrial stair basis
Obstacle Clearance	Up to 20 cm
Gap Crossing	25~30 cm
Min Passage Width	60 cm

Battery:

Lithium-ion battery pack (932.4 Wh, UN 38.3 certified)
Operating time: 90~120 minutes (varies by activity)
Autonomous docking station charging and swappable battery pack support

Computing:

2x Intel Core i7 (6-core) CPUs
2x 8 GB RAM
2x 240 GB SSD
2.4/5 GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi (optional: 4G LTE)
EtherCAT communication
Ubuntu Linux OS
Custom framework based on ROS
C++, Python API support
Gazebo 3D simulation environment provided

ANYmal X (For Explosive Environments)

ANYmal X is the world’s first walking robot to achieve IECEx and ATEX Zone 1 certification, designed for operation in explosive atmospheres. It was unveiled at OTC Asia in 2022 together with PETRONAS, and full customer deliveries begin in 2026. [Source]

Features:

IECEx and ATEX Zone 1 certified (world’s first Ex-proof walking robot)
Maintains identical performance, functionality, speed, and mobility as ANYmal D
IP67 water/dust resistance rating
Equipped with gas detection sensors for methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, etc.
Thermal imaging and vibration analysis capabilities

Customers and Pilot Programs:

PETRONAS (commercial agreement signed in 2022)
Equinor, Petrobras, Woodside, Shell, and others in onboarding program
Over 300 units planned for deployment in coming years [Source]

Sensor Systems

Sensor specifications are compiled based on ANYbotics product pages and third-party sources [RobotsGuide] [ANYbotics].

Sensor	Specification	Notes
LiDAR	360-degree (Velodyne Puck)	Up to 100m range
Depth Cameras	6 units (Intel RealSense)	For close-range environment perception
Wide-angle Cameras	2 units	Front/rear for teleoperation
IMU	Built-in	Body and actuators

Inspection Payload

Optical System:

20x optical zoom camera (4K video capture)
Active LED lighting
+/- 90 degrees vertical, +/- 165 degrees horizontal pan-tilt

Thermal Imaging:

Measurement range: -40 to 550 deg C
Non-contact precision temperature measurement

Acoustic:

Ultrasonic microphone
Audible and ultrasonic bands (0~384 kHz)
For gas leak detection

Gas Detection:

Gas concentration sensors
Acoustic imager-based leak detection

Electrical Equipment Diagnostics:

Partial Discharge event detection
Electrical equipment anomaly sign monitoring

Autonomous Inspection Capabilities

ANYmal autonomously plans paths and selects footholds based on sensor data.

Features:

Real-time environment mapping
Dynamic path planning
Obstacle avoidance
Autonomous stair and ramp navigation
Automatic docking on low battery

Inspection Automation

Visual Inspection:

Gauge, display reading
Equipment status monitoring
Corrosion/damage detection

Thermal Inspection:

Early detection of overheating equipment
Heat distribution pattern analysis

Acoustic Inspection:

Abnormal vibration detection
Gas leak acoustic detection
Bearing wear detection

Gas Inspection:

CO2 concentration monitoring
Combustible gas detection
Leak location tracking

Industrial Applications

Oil and Gas

Key Customers (per Climate Investment press release [Source]):

BP
Equinor
Shell
TotalEnergies
Petrobras
Aramco
ENI

Equinor Northern Lights CCS Facility [Source]: ANYmal D deployed at carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Oygarden, Norway:

Real-time CO2 concentration monitoring
Hazardous level alarm generation
ISPS port perimeter patrol
Remote unmanned facility inspection
Reduced unnecessary site visits

Mining

Underground mine inspection
Ventilation system monitoring
Equipment condition checks

Power Plants

Turbine inspection
Piping inspection
Heat exchanger monitoring

Chemical Plants

Hazardous material handling area inspection
Leak detection
Equipment condition monitoring

Offshore Platforms

Offshore facility inspection
Operation in harsh marine environments
Remote unmanned operation

Research Contributions

Key Papers

The ANYmal platform has produced important research results in the field of legged robots.

Learning quadrupedal locomotion over challenging terrain (Science Robotics, 2020)

Neural network gait controller based on proprioceptive signals
Robustness verified on unlearned terrains like mud, snow, gravel
Real-world testing on two generations of ANYmal

Learning agile and dynamic motor skills for legged robots (Science Robotics, 2019)

Transfer from simulation learning to real robot
Energy-efficient high-speed running
Fall recovery from complex poses

Learning robust perceptive locomotion for quadrupedal robots in the wild (Science Robotics, 2022)

Perception-based walking in outdoor environments
Real-time terrain adaptation

ANYmal parkour: Learning agile navigation for quadrupedal robots (Science Robotics, 2024)

Parkour-level agile locomotion
Complex obstacle course navigation

IEEE Conference Presentations

IROS 2016: “ANYmal - a highly mobile and dynamic quadrupedal robot”
ICRA 2018: “Robust rough-terrain locomotion with a quadrupedal robot”
IEEE RA-L 2020: “Perceptive locomotion in rough terrain-online foothold optimization”
IROS 2022: “Advanced skills by learning locomotion and local navigation end-to-end”

ANYmal Research Community

ANYmal Research is an international community for advancing legged robot research, providing research platforms and manipulation payloads.

2025 ICRA Presentation:

ANYmal Research Manipulation Payload launch
Developed in collaboration with Duatic (ETH Zurich spinoff)
NVIDIA Jetson GPU equipped
Onboard AI model and real-time perception algorithm execution

Technical Specifications Summary

Note: Values below are based on publicly available materials; actual performance may vary by configuration, payload, and environmental conditions. See ANYbotics official spec sheet for accurate specifications.

Item	ANYmal C	ANYmal D
Weight	~50 kg	~55 kg
Payload	Up to 10 kg	Up to 10 kg
Battery	~2 hours	90-120 min
Water/Dust	IP67	IP67
CPU	2x i7 6-core	2x i7 6-core
RAM/Storage	2x 8GB / 2x 240GB SSD	2x 8GB / 2x 240GB SSD
Actuators	12 SEA	12 SEA (85 Nm torque)
Max Speed	3.6 km/h (1 m/s)	4.68 km/h (1.3 m/s)
Max Slope	~20 degrees	~30 degrees
Stairs	Up to 45 degrees	Up to 45 degrees (250mm step)
LiDAR Range	100m	100m

Key Significance

Pioneer in Industrial Inspection Robots: ANYmal is a representative case of successful transition from academic research to commercial product, pioneering the autonomous inspection robot market in harsh industrial environments.
Demonstration of Learning-Based Gait Control: Successfully transferred policies learned in simulation to real robots, achieving robust walking on complex terrain.
IP67 Industrial-Grade Design: Through water/dust resistant design and ATEX certification pursuit (ANYmal X), targets operation in the harshest industrial sites including explosive atmospheres.
Economics of Autonomous Inspection: Achieved both operational cost reduction and safety improvement through 24/7 unmanned operation, remote hazardous area inspection, and early anomaly detection.
Research-Industry Connection Model: Academic research from ETH Zurich commercialized through ANYbotics, contributing back to research community through ANYmal Research community - establishing a virtuous cycle ecosystem.