From Reactive to Prescriptive: Intel Foundry's AI-Powered Robot Dog Transforms Factory Inspections

By Joe Robison, IoT & Robotics Architect, Intel Foundry
Jessica Unwin, Lead Spot Robotics Engineer, Intel Foundry
Ryan Kovalchick, IoT & Robotics Engineering Manager, Intel Foundry

At Intel Foundry, Chip the robot dog is always keeping watch. As the top dog in Intel Foundry's fleet of autonomous inspection robots, Chip patrols our semiconductor factories around the clock, continuously searching for hot spots and other signs of potential equipment problems. Developed by Boston Dynamics and customized by Intel Foundry robotics engineers, inspection robots like Chip use a variety of sensors to perform 16 different visual, thermal, and acoustic inspections of industrial equipment at our manufacturing facilities worldwide. Introduced at Direct Connect 2025, Chip is just one example of how Intel Foundry uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate inspections, bringing more value to our customers with increased efficiency and throughput in production as well as predictability in delivering high quality products.

Industry 5.0: Using AI, Robotics, and IoT to Automate Facilities

As the semiconductor industry continues to adopt Industry 5.0 principles, we’re using AI, robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT) to add intelligence, safety, and efficiency to Intel Foundry's global manufacturing operations. Chip is one of many technological innovations we’re implementing at facilities.

With Industry 5.0, technicians will move from reactive to prescriptive maintenance roles, leaving repetitive tasks to autonomous robots. This enables human workers to upskill to focus on other complex value-added tasks (such as using technology to identify problems when troubleshooting and maintaining manufacturing equipment and cutting-edge robotics systems) and developing additional innovative ways to increase production.

In these lights out, fully automated factories of the future, technicians and engineers will validate sensor data and industrial control system output from a remote operations center, using this intelligence for context-rich decision making. People will no longer have to go into dangerous spaces that are not ergonomically friendly. Instead, for example, technicians can remotely control robots like Chip to check areas with hazardous production materials or extreme temperatures.

On Patrol: AI-Powered Automated Inspections

Chip is always on patrol in facilities, conducting 16 different preventative and inspection tasks that a person would need to walk 18,000 steps a day to perform. Chip has relieved technicians from doing repetitive tasks, such as manually checking fluid levels in tanks — a routine and time-consuming effort. Using advanced autonomous navigation and route planning, Chip walks an average of five miles daily to conduct inspections, even climbing stairs into tight spots.

Using image video interpretation with AI, robot inspectors can read analog pressure gauges, scan for leaks, and measure chemical tote levels for inventory. Chip can easily capture thermal signatures to avoid overheating equipment parts, like exhaust fans and pump bearings. Equipped with audio sensors, Chip can detect compressed air or gas leaks, and even odd equipment vibrations. Chip is environmentally aware, always auditing temperature pressure, humidity, odor, and particle counts, ensuring both worker safety and optimal equipment functioning.

Since deployment, Chip has improved the quality of data collected during inspections by streamlining the process for technicians and decreasing invisible safety risks. For example, during a routine inspection of boiler pumps, Chip detected hot water unexpectedly moving through the line of a powered-down pump. The robot alerted area technicians about the anomaly, enabling them to safely isolate the pump for diagnosis. Technicians found a non-functioning gasket in the pump. Together, this proactive repair by humans and a robot prevented possible hot water leakage and additional equipment damage.

How Factory Automation Benefits Customers

Chip has enabled facilities to expand the amount of data collected from equipment and other complex systems. This gives technicians the analytic tools needed to understand the health of machines and predictively maintain them before failures occur, minimizing downtime and costly replacements, and ultimately extending equipment lifespan. This predictability helps Intel Foundry deliver the quality and consistency our customers expect.

Overall, Chip enables more productive operations while keeping technicians safer and focused on value-added work — ensuring our customers can quickly and efficiently bring products to market.

Intel Foundry: Factories of the Future

What new doors will open next for Chip? With the help of Intel Foundry robotics engineers, key access doors will be automated in facilities, allowing Chip to inspect more areas. Beyond autonomous inspections, Chip could perform “assisted maintenance.” By adding a robotic arm, technicians could remotely teleoperate Chip to physically intervene in environments, such as turning a valve, moving tools, or racking breakers to avoid electrical arc flashes.

In addition, our roboticists are working with Intel Foundry’s emergency response team to explore how Chip can be used in place of a human in safety scenarios. Certain rare hazardous situations require the highest levels of personal protective equipment for people to safely evaluate or mitigate. The team can use Chip to remotely evaluate these hazardous scenarios to determine a plan of action before sending in a person.

Beyond automated inspections and safety, we’re exploring how Chip can use factory-floor data to improve yield. By leveraging anomaly detection, we aim to reduce downtime risk and make smarter manufacturing decisions.

If you are interested in learning more about how Intel Foundry can deliver results for you, please reach out to us at foundry.contact@intel.com.