Deployment of Mobile Robotics for High Voltage Switchyards Assets Inspection: Advances and Trends

This paper discusses the recent advances in robotic technologies and their application in the field of high voltage switchyard inspection. It is intended to provide the reader with valuable perspectives on automating repetitive routine walk-through inspections using robotic technologies for smart grids and enhanced reliability of the assets. While robotic technologies have been leveraged by a wide spectrum of industries, the power systems industry is not an exception. The adoption of robots in the power system industry is used to overcome conventional inspection challenges that includes safety hazards, accessibility, time constraints, high OPEX, and limited inspection quality. However, mobile robots' adoption was limited due to limitations in technology. Nowadays, shortcomings in robotic technologies are significantly minimized, as a result the benefits of deploying robotics in power systems use cases can be realized. This paper introduces, based on experience, the robotics capabilities, advancements, and applications for high voltage power systems switchyards inspection. These inspection applications include visual and thermal inspection, partial discharge detection, hotspot AI monitoring, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas leak detection, and oil leak detection. In addition, we share the potential of deploying collaborative and intelligent robots' system to further enhance reliability.