Guangdong power company trains robots for key tasks

A variety of robots are being developed and trained for major tasks at Guangdong Power Grid Co.

The company, which is a subsidiary of China Southern Power Grid Co, is already using robots for tasks including power equipment inspection and live-line work.

The power robot laboratory of the company focuses on research that includes multi-modal environmental perception, autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance, adaptive operation in complex conditions, and intelligent identification of equipment defects.

Guangdong Power Grid is employing more than 10,000 power inspection drones, which make about 500,000 flight missions annually and score efficiency 2.5 times higher than the conventional method.

Earlier this year, the Jiangmen Power Supply Bureau of the company introduced a digital employee which serves as a super brain for drones.

It automatically generates flight plans and optimizes routes, slashing pre-flight preparation from 30 minutes to one minute, Sun Tiancheng, technician of Jiangmen branch of the company, told media on Thursday.