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Pipeline RT Crawlers (TCR-Owned)
The pipeline RT Crawler fleet (developed in-house at TCR) sits at TCR Engineering and TCR Arabia. The Saudi Aramco-approved Internal RT Crawler is…
Services
Robotic and AI-Assisted Inspection
The robotic and AI-assisted inspection pillar carries the visible differentiation that owner-operators (Saudi Aramco, NEOM, the forward-looking Indian refiners) increasingly screen vendors on.
Request a QuoteOverview
TCR owns and operates ARTiS automated reformer-tube inspection and the Aramco-approved Internal RT Crawler family (SAER-13115), alongside robotic tank crawlers, ROV underwater inspection and an AI-assisted digital laboratory.
The services of this pillar
02
Robotic Tank Inspection Rover
The TCR Group has invested in a partner who has developed ATEX/PESO-certified internal rover for in-service tank…
03
Submersible ROV, Underwater Inspection (Planys Alliance)
The Planys alliance carries the underwater robotic inspection ROV for water storage tanks, sub-water bridge piers, intakes, outfalls, sumps, and…
04
AGAAS, the AI Agent and Automation Architecture
AGAAS is the proprietary intelligent-agent and automation architecture across the group's operating workflows. The capability is positioned as a moat…
05
The Chugai Technos Scale Checker
A radioisotope system built around a Cs-137 source that measures scale, sludge, and fouling inside live tubes and pipelines without removing insulation or stopping flow.
06
ARTiS, Automated Reformer Tube Inspection
An advanced solution for the comprehensive assessment of reformer tubes
Overview
Two ownership categories:
- TCR-owned: ARTiS (Automated Reformer Tube Inspection System). The pipeline RT Crawler family that holds the Aramco SAER-13115 cost-avoidance citation.
- Partner-delivered: ITAS Rover, MagRover, MicroRover, OTIS in-service robotic tank inspection, 3D laser scanning (external partner). Submersible ROV, drones, and bridge-inspection robotics (mix of TCR and partner inventory).
Partner-Delivered Robotics
ITAS Rover, In-Service Tank Inspection
In-service tank internals inspection. Eliminates the need for tank entry and degassing on shell-and-floor surveys.
MagRover, Wall-Climbing Magnetic Adhesion Robot
240+ assets deployed. Magnetic-adhesion wall-climbing platform for storage tank shells, pressure vessels, columns, and reactor exteriors. Carries UT thickness measurement, visual capture, and corrosion mapping payload.
MicroRover, Boiler Tubes
Targeted at internal boiler-tube inspection where ID access is the only viable inspection route.
Standards Coverage Matrix (Robotics and AI)
Pipeline Robotics: API 1104 22nd Edition (2021); SAEP-1143 (Saudi Aramco RT engineering procedure); ASME B31.4 / B31.8 (2022 eds.); EN 1435 (RT classes A and B); ISO 17636 (RT of welded joints).
Tank Robotics: API 653 6th Edition (2024); API RP 575 4th Edition (2020); ATEX 2014/34/EU; PESO certification framework.
Reformer Tube Robotics (ARTiS): API 530 (calculation of heater-tube thickness in petroleum refineries); API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 4th Edition (2021); ASTM A388 (UT examination of heavy steel forgings).
Radiography Digitalisation: ASTM E1936 (RT film digitalisation); ASTM E2698; ASME V Article 2.
ROV and Underwater: ASTM E1316 (NDT terminology); IMCA R 004 (ROV codes of practice).
Representative Robotics and AI Engagements
| Client / Project | Service Anchor | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Aramco, CAT Fabrication Shop Dammam | Internal RT Crawler 16-52 inch, $4.98M cost avoidance over 5 years (SAER-13115) | 2023 to 2025 |
| Likhita Infrastructure for Nepal Oil Corporation, MAPL Phase II | Cross-border RT Crawler deployment, AERB and BARC permissioned | 2023 |
| EnProCon TJTC Kolar | 9,266 weld joints digitally scanned and cloud-archived | Multiple |
| Dangote Fertilizers, Nigeria | ARTiS reformer life extension | 2023 |
| Emirates Steel Industries, Abu Dhabi | ARTiS DRP1 and DRP2 | 2025 |
| JIFCO, Jordan | RFET and videoscopy of WHRB tubes (ARTiS-adjacent workflow) | 2025 |
| WTCO, KSA | Robotic tank inspection 3-year contract via TCR Arabia | Q1 2025 onward |
| 29+ tanks (Petrobot ITAS Rover) | In-service tank internals inspection | Multiple |
| 240+ assets (Petrobot MagRover) | Wall-climbing UT thickness and corrosion mapping | Multiple |
| Maharashtra PWD | Robotic NDT on 500+ bridges | Continuous |
| PDO Maharashtra | AI-assisted underwater inspection on 400+ bridges | March 2022 |
| Chugai Technos Hiroshima collaboration | Scale Checker NDE 2025 launch and joint trade show Japan September 2026 | December 2025 onward |
TCR Arabia Robotic Inspection Field Record
In the Kingdom, TCR Arabia has built one of the deepest robotic-inspection field records in the region across a decade of campaigns for the major operators, and that record is the proof behind the capability.
Robotic Remote Visual Inspection of Buried and Unmanned Lines
Since 2016, more than forty robotic remote-visual-inspection and push-camera campaigns have run on buried concrete-coated, RTR, FRP, and GRP seawater and process lines. Clients include SABIC and its affiliates, Ibn Al Baytar, SAFCO II, III, and IV, Saudi Kayan, Yansab, Al Bayroni, Petrokemya, Agri Nutrients, and Ibn Sina, including the autonomous robotic programme at Arrazi in 2025, together with MARAFIQ, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, the Royal Commission at Ras Al Khair, SAMREF, TASNEE, Jubail Chemical Industries (Jana), Enppi on behalf of Saudi Aramco at Juaymah, and the inspection of the underground GRP pipeline at Jeddah Airport.
Robotic Tank and Basin Inspection
Since 2020, submersible robotic inspection has delivered hundred-percent visual and thickness measurement on fire-water, potable-water, and demineralised-water tanks, on seawater sumps and intake pipelines, and on underwater piles, with no need to drain and enter the asset. Clients include Advance Petrochemical, SABIC and Saudi Kayan, Saudi Aramco at Dhahran and Ras Tanura, Saudi Chevron Phillips, Engie at Dhuruma, Jana Chemicals, and the Water Transmission Company, across Jubail, Riyadh, Dhahran, Madinah, and Yanbu.
The Saudi Aramco Ras Tanura under-water pile inspection in 2025 added pulsed eddy-current testing to the submersible visual scope, extending the technique from condition survey to wall-thickness screening below the waterline.
Related insights
4 published insights on this site carry the Robotic Inspection tag. The 4 most recent are below.
TCR Engineering Launches Revolutionary Scale Checker for Pipe Blockage Diagnostics in Partnership with Chugai Technos (Japan) at NDE 2025 Mumbai
TCR Engineering unveils Scale Checker at NDE 2025 Mumbai Dec 11-13. Revolutionary pipe inspection in 3 minutes. Visit TCR Advanced booth now!
TCR's Inspection Strategies for Aboveground Storage Tanks
Tank integrity with advanced NDT solutions like AE, MFL, PAUT & robotic inspections, ensuring safety, compliance, and longevity
TCR Arabia Secures Landmark Robotic Inspection Project with WTCO
TCR Arabia secures a 3-year WTCO contract for robotic water tank inspections across Saudi Arabia, starting Q1 2025.
Microstructure Characterizer Software
Developed by TCR, Microstructure Characterizer is a powerful image analysis software for Metallurgical use.
Frequently asked questions
Which robotic inspection systems does TCR own and operate?
TCR owns ARTiS, the Automated Reformer Tube Inspection System, and the pipeline Internal RT Crawler family developed in-house, which holds the Saudi Aramco SAER-13115 citation. Partner-delivered capability adds the ITAS Rover, MagRover and MicroRover tank and tube robots, submersible ROVs and drones, with ownership always stated plainly.
Is TCR's Internal RT Crawler approved by Saudi Aramco?
Yes. Saudi Aramco engineering report SAER-13115, dated 8 September 2025, names TCR as the Internal RT Crawler technology provider, covering the 16 to 52 inch pipe range, with USD 4,980,000 of documented cost avoidance over 5 years, approximately an 80 percent reduction.
What is ARTiS reformer tube inspection?
ARTiS is TCR's automated reformer-tube inspection practice with built-in Fitness for Service assessment per API 579-1/ASME FFS-1. The practice has scanned 50,000+ reformer tubes cumulatively across 80+ inspections, including campaigns at Dangote in Nigeria, Emirates Steel in Abu Dhabi and JIFCO in Jordan.
Can TCR perform underwater robotic inspection?
Yes. Submersible ROV inspection runs through the Planys Technologies alliance in India, and TCR Arabia has delivered submersible robotic tank, sump and pile inspection in Saudi Arabia since 2020, including Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura underwater pile inspection in 2025 that added pulsed eddy-current wall-thickness screening below the waterline.
Can a storage tank be inspected robotically while in service?
Yes. The partner-delivered ITAS Rover performs in-service tank internals inspection, eliminating tank entry and degassing on shell-and-floor surveys, under an ATEX/PESO certification framework. The record includes 29+ tanks inspected and a three-year robotic tank inspection contract with WTCO in Saudi Arabia via TCR Arabia from Q1 2025.
Does TCR use AI in its inspection work?
Yes. AGAAS, the group's proprietary intelligent-agent and automation architecture, runs across operating workflows alongside the AI-assisted digital laboratory. Field programmes include the BMC robotic underwater bridge programme of March 2026, covering 400+ bridges with AI-assisted inspection, and 9,266 weld joints digitally scanned and cloud-archived at EnProCon TJTC Kolar.