In an underground laboratory in central Sydney, a robot and a drone are being put through their paces. From time to time, their young inventors hunch over their respective offspring, fine-tuning movements and adjusting software.
CROC, an autonomous robot inspired by the movement of an inchworm, is edging its way along a customised tunnel in the corner. With its special magnetic foot, CROC can climb vertical steel walls, avoid obstacles and pivot through small spaces inside bridges and other steel structures such as ship hulls, transmission towers and oil rigs. Along the way, it can collect and record inspection data and compare it with data from previous visits.