Overview
Inspection of an electricity substation with mobile autonomous robotics
Inspection work in an electrical substation, in addition to incurring high economic costs, entails considerable risks for the operators, as it is an environment of proximity to high voltage.
Therefore, the automation of this task solves both of these problems and adds further advantages, such as reducing the time it takes to complete each inspection. Thanks to this and the transmission of data in real time, the response time in the event of accidents or dangerous situations is reduced.
RB-VOGUI is the robot developed for this success story and is mainly responsible for the navigation and collection of high quality data, which is transferred in real time to the relevant personnel.
After the implementation of the fleet of autonomous mobile robots, only one operator is needed to monitor the fleet from a control centre.
Robotnik’s robotics solution
RB-VOGUI is a highly versatile autonomous mobile robot, suitable for inspection and predictive maintenance operations outside the facility.
The robot developed for this case integrates 3D SLAM technology, a command sequencer and planner to automate missions and 5G.
To facilitate the management and control of the robot fleet by the operator, Robotnik provides an Advanced User Interface tool that allows the creation of maps, definition of points of interest and missions, mission initiation, alarm/warning logs, etc.
Challenges
For this use case of inspection robotics in a substation it was key to ensure no communication and/or connection interruption.
The network connection guarantees efficiency for telecontrol and telepresence, as well as for data, video and audio streams. The RB-VOGUI is therefore equipped with a 5G-BROAD router from Fivecomm, which enables high bandwidth and the management of large amounts of data.
Another particularity of this case is the need to install a battery charging station outside, where the fleet of robots autonomously goes to recharge when a low battery level is detected.