At this site technical articles published at the YOKOGAWA technical report are introduced.
Technical Report
Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Probe for Diverse Applications
- Takeaki Ishii*1
- Risa Hara*1
- Kazuyuki Kakehi*2
- Toshiyuki Saruya*1
- Kazuhiko Inamura*1
*1 Innovation Center, Marketing Headquarters
*2 Yokogawa Solution Service Corporation
Inline measurement technologies for low-transparency process streams of raw materials have potential applications across a wide range of industries. Toward this end, we investigated a near-infrared spectroscopic probe to address key challenges in inline analysis. The probe’s first feature is a window-mounted design for pipes or tanks that enables quick installation and removal. This design allows the probe to be removed from the production line without interrupting production. As a result, calibration models can be developed and maintained in the laboratory. The second feature is a periodic reference measurement function that enables correction for changes in the measurement system while the probe remains installed. We experimentally evaluated this function and confirmed that it suppresses absorbance fluctuations under variations in spectrometer temperature.
Utilization of Robots for Autonomous Inspection in Offshore Unmanned Facilities
- Akari Hara*1
- Yasuki Sakurai*2
- Youhei Tanigawa*1
*1 Innovation Center, Marketing Headquarters
*2 Business Center, Systems Business Division, Digital Solutions Headquarters
In recent years, the deployment of robots for plant operations has been accelerating, accompanied by initial evaluations of their practical applicability by end-users. YOKOGAWA has also been pursuing entry into the robotics business; however, the design of realistic use cases currently remains underdeveloped for both vendors and users. This study, supported by the Nippon Foundation and the international offshore technology consortium DeepStar, focuses on the design and demonstration of robotic use cases for offshore unmanned platforms. For this purpose, we employed the EX ROVR, an explosion-proof plant inspection robot developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to conduct verification trials in a simulated offshore platform environment under an on-premises system configuration. Through these trials, we identified technical challenges associated with practical operating conditions. The results of this study provide concrete guidelines for the implementation of robotic systems in plant facilities.
- Hirofumi Nakanishi*1
- Tomoya Itou*1
*1 DX Business Development Department, Innovation Center, Marketing Headquarters
Species identification and population measurement of underwater microalgae in the fields of water quality and marine environment monitoring rely heavily on manual work performed by skilled operators, posing challenges in terms of accuracy and efficiency. In this study, we have developed an automated identification and counting technology using FlowCam by YOKOGAWA, a flow imaging microscope. Samples of raw water and seawater often contain numerous non-target algae and foreign particles, which are the primary causes of misclassification. To address this issue, a classification support module was introduced to suppress misclassification of non-target data, thereby improving accuracy. Verification targeting the harmful alga Coscinodiscus wailesii in seaweed farming areas demonstrated species identification accuracy of over 95% and a cell density estimation error within ±10%. This technology enables highly accurate and efficient algae monitoring compared to conventional methods and is expected to contribute to applications such as water quality management and red tide prediction.
Operation Design Technology for Heterogeneous Robot System
- Hiroki Sugawara*1
- Yuya Okada*2
- Takeshi Hatanaka*2
*1 DX Business Development Department, Innovation Center, Marketing Headquarters
*2 Hatanaka Lab, Department of Systems and Control Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo
In recent years, robots that can be deployed in process plants have begun to emerge and their use for on-site patrol inspections or as first responders in emergencies is being actively considered. However, current robots operate based only on pre-designed motions and pre-trained behaviors. This limits the tasks they can perform in real environments where diverse situations arise. Meanwhile, expanding the range of tasks through enhanced robot functionality and the development of low-cost robots is expected to increase the number of robots deployed. As these developments progress, robot operation will grow to a scale too massive for humans to handle. We aim to realize “Industrial Autonomy” and hypothesize that it is desirable for a robot management system to control all robots deployed in the field. To this end, we have been developing technology to design operation instructions for individual robots. In particular, we have developed a design algorithm that meets the computational time constraints required for real-world operations and is suitable for practical use.
New Products