8scale · The Robotics Journey
An article series written with Chevron's Technology, Projects & Execution team, for asset owners, service providers and technology companies moving robotics past the pilot.
Read Part 2, drone in a boxOVERVIEW
Field robotics in energy has a documentation problem. Vendors publish capability, operators publish safety statistics, and almost nobody publishes what it took to get from the first trial to a recurring work order.
The Robotics Journey is our attempt to close part of that gap together with an operator. Each part is written with Chevron's Technology, Projects & Execution team and reviewed by both sides. The figures are the article's own, printed with their assumptions, and the lessons come from Chevron's robotics program and its partners.
We publish each part in full, free, without a form.
Part 2 asks what has to be true before an autonomous drone dock counts as site infrastructure rather than equipment someone signs out. It sets the proposed FAA Part 108 next to the EASA Specific category, introduces a five axis rating for competing inspection methods, works through four use case families, and models a business case for a mid sized U.S. refinery with its assumptions printed.
Twenty pages, February 2026, published with the permission of Chevron Corporation.
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
Part 1 covers working at heights and confined spaces, where robotics moved from trials into everyday practice first, and what the change in exposure and turnaround impact looked like in the field.
Part 3 examines how site specific digital twins and simulation environments change inspection, and what physics accurate models mean for validating flight paths and sensor coverage before a flight happens.
Both are in preparation. Tell us where to send them and you get the release, once, with no list subscription attached.
