This robot isn’t artificial intelligence, but human intelligence

The future will see untold technology solutions, involving people, companies, nations and continents all working together in a joint effort to supply energy and achieve the climate goals. One essential tool will be new digital technology being developed to solve complex tasks together with human workers.

Weldar is the name of a welding robot that can weld and repair pipelines while there is gas flowing in the pipeline, so we don’t have to interrupt production. Colleagues may well have been sceptical when an engineer at Equinor found the robot in an online classified advertisement, but Weldar has now been significantly developed and has become another valuable colleague. He saves welders from risky work operations and can reach places where no other welder can go.

We also have airborne drones "sniffing" their way to methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is potentially leaked from gas production. We are testing whether drones developed by SeekOps can provide us with more accurate emission data, an essential part of the work to reduce emissions.

We now face the biggest challenge of our time, the climate crisis. Equinor's ambition is to continue supplying society with energy with a smaller carbon footprint and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. New technology will be a crucial part of the solution.

Our plan is that both we and others can use these technologies as soon as it is ready.

For 50 years, together with small and large innovators, we have helped push the boundaries of what is possible to achieve. We will continue to do so, using more new technology than ever before.