Gas Detection Robot Dog: Toxic Gas Sensing

I. Project Background

A large-scale chemical industrial park, covering an area of 560,000 square meters, comprises three main functional zones: organic synthesis, fine chemicals, and warehousing and logistics. Within the park, there are 32 toxic and hazardous gas emission points involving 12 high-risk gases such as benzene, toluene, and chlorine, with safety thresholds designed between 0.1 and 10 ppm. Previously, the park adopted a "fixed-point sensors + manual patrols (2-person teams)" model, with each patrol shift lasting 8 hours. This approach presented three major pain points:

Fixed-point sensors had large coverage blind spot, leaving areas such as perimeter pipelines and temporary work zones without real-time monitoring. In 2023, a toluene leak was not detected in time, leading to the evacuation of personnel within a 300-meter radius and direct economic losses of 800,000 RMB.
Manual inspections required carrying portable detectors in high-temperature, high-humidity, and dusty environments. The equipment was prone to interference, resulting in a false alarm rate of 15%. Inspectors were also exposed to high-risk environments, posing significant safety hazards.
After a leak occurred, manually locating the source took an average of 40 minutes, delaying emergency response.
To enhance the park's gas safety prevention and control capabilities, four gas detection robotic dogs were introduced in May 2024.

II. Implementation Process

1. Preliminary Adaptation and Deployment (May 10–May 25)

The technical team carried out specialized adaptations on the robotic dogs:

Equipped with high-precision electrochemical gas sensors (detection accuracy ±0.01 ppm), capable of simultaneously identifying 12 target toxic gases.
Outer shells made of corrosion-resistant, waterproof, and dustproof (IP67) materials to suit the complex environment of the chemical park.
Integrated GPS + Beidou dual-mode positioning with an accuracy of 1 meter.

Using the park's GIS map and LiDAR scanning, a 3D monitoring map was constructed, marking 32 high-risk emission points, 18 pipelines, and 5 temporary work zones. Four fixed patrol routes were predefined:

East Zone Pipeline Route
West Zone Production Area Route
Warehousing Zone Loop
Perimeter Blind Spot Supplementary Inspection Route

Safety thresholds for each gas and a graded leak warning standard were established:

Level 1 Warning: Concentration reaches 80% of the threshold.
Level 2 Warning: Concentration reaches the threshold.
Level 3 Warning: Concentration exceeds the threshold by 20%.

Data connectivity with the park's emergency command system was completed, enabling real-time推送 of warning information.

2. Trial Operation and Debugging (May 26–June 15)

A trial operation model of "robotic dog patrols + manual verification" was adopted, with three daily patrol rounds (8:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 8:00 PM). Each round lasted 2.5 hours. During the trial, two core issues were resolved:

Weak signals in certain areas caused data transmission delays. This was addressed by deploying 5G signal boosters and optimizing the data transmission protocol, achieving real-time data synchronization.
Sensors were susceptible to interference from dust. By adding automatic dust removal devices and optimizing the sensor sampling algorithm, the false alarm rate was reduced to below 3%.

Third-party verification confirmed a 99.2% consistency between the robotic dogs' gas detection data and standard instrument readings.

3. Formal Operation (June 16–Present)

The four robotic dogs are assigned to different zones, responsible for 24/7 continuous gas monitoring across the entire park. Under normal conditions, they follow preset patrol routes. For temporary work zones, they conduct specialized inspections based on dispatch commands. When abnormal gas concentrations are detected, graded warnings are automatically triggered, with location information, gas concentration data, and live footage uploaded simultaneously. The emergency command system can remotely control the robotic dogs to approach the leak source for precise localization.

III. Application Results

Enhanced Safety Prevention and Control: Toxic gas monitoring blind spot coverage was reduced from 22% to 0%. In 2024, the system issued 12 warnings for abnormal gas concentrations, all of which were handled promptly without escalating into safety incidents. Inspectors no longer need to enter high-risk areas, reducing personnel safety risk exposure by 100%.
Significantly Improved Monitoring Efficiency: The time for a full-park patrol round was reduced from 8 hours to 2.5 hours, improving efficiency by 69%. Leak source localization time was shortened from 40 minutes to 5 minutes, providing valuable time for emergency response.
Reduced Management Costs: Two inspection teams were eliminated, saving approximately 960,000 RMB annually in labor costs. Digital storage of detection data enables traceability and analysis, helping the park
optimize key areas for gas prevention. The hazard rectification rate increased from 75% to 98%.

IV. Typical Scenario

At 16:00 on August 12, 2024, a gas detection robotic dog patrolling the West Zone production area detected a benzene concentration of 0.8 ppm (benzene safety threshold: 1.0 ppm) in the pipeline area outside the organic synthesis workshop. It immediately triggered a Level 1 warning and uploaded the data and live footage to the emergency command center. Dispatchers remotely guided the robotic dog to trace along the pipeline, and by 16:05, it precisely located the leak source: aging seals at a pipeline joint. Maintenance personnel arrived on-site with tools and replaced the seals by 16:18, restoring the benzene concentration to 0.2 ppm. In this incident, the robotic dog's early warning and precise localization prevented the risk of explosion from rising benzene levels, avoided approximately 500,000 RMB in production shutdown losses, and posed no exposure risk to personnel throughout the process.