Development and implementation of a robotic inspection system for power substations

Purpose - With the dramatically increasing number of substations, robots are expected to inspect equipment in the power industry. However, a traditional robotic system cannot work stably because of the strong electromagnetic field in substation. The purpose of this paper is to present a robust and stable robotic system for inspecting the substation equipment without the involvement of workers. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents in detail a robotic system that consists of a monitor center and a robot. With the monitor center, the workers could send inspection tasks and monitor status of the robot timely. Once a fault is detected, the alarm message will flash immediately to remind the workers. The patrol mode of the robot comprises teleoperation, regular inspection, special inspection and a key return mode. The robot only relies on a low-cost magnetic sensor for lateral positioning and radio frequency identification technology for longitudinal positioning when working under patrol mode. At each stop point, the substation equipment can be recognized quickly through accurate matching with the template image stored in the database. Findings - It is shown that the robot could work efficiently and reliably in power substations. The positioning error is proved to be within 5 mm, compared to that of 20 cm by implementing integrated global positioning system-dead reckoning navigation. Because of the high positioning accuracy, it is much easier to recognize the substation equipment. It is observed that nearly 99 per cent of equipments can be recognized. Research limitations/implications - The proposed robotic system is tested in a simple substation environment. While the proposed system shows satisfactory positioning results, further studies considering changeable weather condition will focus on improving the equipment recognition rate in such environment, such as rainy, snowy and strong sunlight. Practical implications - The key contribution of this paper is that it provides a robotic system to inspect substation equipment instead of workers, to improve working efficiency and to reduce manpower cost. Originality/value - This paper presents a robotic system to inspect substation equipment instead of workers. Four patrol modes are designed to meet the inspection demand. Comparing with the previous robotic systems, this system contributes to higher position accuracy and higher equipment recognition rate.