Woodside Energy is testing semi-autonomous robots for patrolling and inspecting its liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations.

The company has launched trials involving four-wheeled robots with several remotely-controlled arms and sensors.

“The first site trial of our patrol and inspection machines took place in November at the Pluto LNG facility,” Woodside said in a statement.

“Further trials will be conducted in 2018.”

Woodside has also been working with a humanoid robot on loan from NASA, which can be seen in the video below.

The company has also deployed a wi-fi network across all LNG trains at its Karratha gas plant (KGP).

“In 2018, we will connect the remainder of the plant to wi-fi, providing site-wide availability,” Woodside said.

“The KGP wi-fi technology provides a fast and cost-effective way of acquiring additional data to support operations and business decision making.”

The robots are expected to allow improvements in worker productivity and plant availability as a result of the new communications infrastructure.

Woodside is the latest of several resources companies to have upgraded communications to adopt IT-OT integration and internet of things (IoT) projects.