Electrical substations are crucial for transmitting electric power between the generating station and consumers. Therefore, inspections must be conducted periodically in order to identify potential safety hazards and prevent power failures. In the past, these inspections were mainly conducted by inspection officers. However, the likelihood of errors and negligence was high due to the heavy inspection workload in large-scale substations, as well as the potentially harsh and challenging working conditions in remote substations. Thus, full-time inspection robots have become an increasing trend in recent years, especially for substations that are unmanned or have minimal personnel.

The general operations of typical substation inspection robots are as follows: First, inspection instructions are transmitted wirelessly from the control center to the robot, which then carries out the instructions following a designated route. Along the route, the robot captures high-resolution images, measures temperature using an infrared thermometer, and then transmits the data back to the control center. If an abnormality is detected, the inspection robot notifies relevant personnel be emitting an alert signal. After completing the assigned inspection task, the robot returns to the recharge room for automatic recharging or enters standby mode to await the next instruction. To conduct these tasks accurately, inspection robots require additional functionalities and hardware devices, which necessitate a powerful embedded computer to function as the control center.

Advantech’s UNO-2483G and UNO-2272G are high-performance, fanless, embedded computers capable of conducting massive and complex computing tasks. Their compact, optimized design can withstand extreme outdoor environments and are suitable for limited-space installations. With the inclusion of multiple I/O interfaces and iDoor technology, the UNO-2483G and UNO-2272G support flexible expansion and integration with various hardware devices according to specific applications. Additionally, with the dedicated support of Advantech’s R&D team, system integrators can rapidly develop inspection robots for conducting inspection tasks.