Casey Crownhart explains how solid-state transformers combine magnetics with power semiconductors to step voltage with more control in a smaller package than century-old iron-core designs. They are still in development and cannot yet replace the largest transmission units. Transformer lead times are a top grid constraint, so any credible alternative matters to utilities and data center planners.
ANYbotics says ANYmal X, a legged inspection robot built to meet the ATEX and IECEx explosion-protection standards, is now shipping to oil, gas and chemical companies including Equinor and DSM-Firmenich. BP, Equinor, Shell, PETRONAS, Petrobras, BASF and SLB have tested it since 2023 through an early access program, and it carries thermal, visual, acoustic and gas sensors that log readings to each asset. Robot rounds in hazardous zones are moving from pilots to deliveries.
Xplore AI's new RWE-bench tested 11 AI models on 20 engineering tasks, including crankshaft design, DDR3 board routing and turbine vane CFD, each graded by a deterministic verifier with no human or AI judge. The top model, GPT-6 Astra, averaged a 37% pass rate. The hard design work is still mostly done by people.
Oil Co Intern posted a short video captioned 'Me and the boys using AI in the Oil and Gas industry' that drew about 497,000 views and 5,596 likes. It is a joke, and it reads as a mood check on how field crews see the AI pitch.
