Insight
Robotic inspection for substations and utility assets: where legged robots fit
Legged robots fit best on routine, repeatable inspection rounds at substations, converter stations and plant sites, where they carry cameras, thermal imagers and acoustic sensors along the same route each time and send the results to engineers. Utilities in Australia and overseas are trialling them to reduce how often people enter hazardous or remote areas and to inspect more often. Field crews, switching staff and the permit system stay in place.
Key takeaways
- Legged robots suit repeatable rounds over gravel, kerbs, stairs and trench covers that wheeled robots struggle with.
- Public trials, including Powerlink in Queensland, focus on thermal, visual and environmental inspection and access to hard-to-reach areas.
- The value depends on getting robot findings into your asset management system against the right asset IDs.
- Heat, dust, rain and connectivity at remote Australian sites need checking against IP ratings and operating ranges.
- Most general-purpose quadrupeds are not certified for explosive atmospheres. Hazardous-area work needs certified equipment.
Substation and plant inspection rounds are a good match for robots on paper: the same route, the same equipment and the same readings, repeated on a schedule. In practice the robot also has to get around the yard, send its data somewhere useful, stay under someone’s control and cope with a gravel switchyard in western Queensland in January.
Why are utilities trialling legged robots?
Substations are hard on wheels. Gravel yards, kerbs, cable trench covers, stairs into control buildings and uneven ground between bays all favour a machine that can step. Legged robots can also carry several sensors at once and repeat a route precisely, which makes readings more comparable over time.
The published examples are trials and staged rollouts:
- Powerlink, Queensland: in June 2025 Powerlink said it had started field trials of a Boston Dynamics Spot robot at substations and remote sites, including Belmont Substation. It carries cameras and sensors for visual inspection, thermal imaging and environmental monitoring, can operate autonomously or remotely, and streams data to Powerlink’s control centre. Powerlink described the aims as reaching hard-to-reach or hazardous areas, patrolling remote sites more often and supporting rapid fault assessment, with a capability assessment planned after a further six months of trials.
- Avangrid, United States: in early 2024 Avangrid’s United Illuminating business piloted a robot dog at two Connecticut substations for visual inspection, thermal imaging of transformers and breakers, analog gauge reading using AI models, and optional acoustic sensing. At the time it was operated from a tablet by on-site staff, with remote operation in development.
- Overseas utilities: DEEP Robotics reports deployments with power utilities where quadrupeds with visible and thermal cameras and lidar read instruments and check equipment temperatures. These results are published by the manufacturer.
What can a legged robot inspect?
| Inspection task | What the robot collects | What still needs a person |
|---|---|---|
| Visual rounds | Zoomed images of equipment, oil levels, doors, fences, compared with a baseline | Judging unfamiliar defects and deciding on action |
| Thermal survey | Temperatures on connections, bushings and breaker phases, compared across phases | Interpretation, allowing for load and solar gain |
| Gauge reading | Analog pressure, temperature, level and density gauges read by computer vision | Confirming out-of-range readings and faulty gauges |
| Acoustic sensing | Imaged air or gas leaks and abnormal sound or vibration | Diagnosis and follow-up testing |
| Security patrol | Fence lines, gates, building doors, signs of intrusion | Response to breaches and police liaison |
| Environmental checks | Gas or air quality readings where sensors are fitted | Hazard assessment and entry decisions |
Thermal work needs care in Australian conditions. Solar loading on equipment in direct sun can mask or mimic faults, so many operators prefer early-morning or night rounds, which also suit the robot.
What about hazardous areas?
Two kinds of hazard matter. Near high-voltage equipment, the robot is another object moving through the yard. Routes need to respect your network’s safe approach distances and access rules, just as a person’s would. In classified explosive atmospheres, such as some gas, chemical or mining sites, equipment must be certified for the zone under the IECEx scheme and the AS/NZS 60079 series. ANYbotics announced an IECEx and ATEX Zone 1 certified legged robot in 2022, but most general-purpose quadrupeds are not certified for explosive atmospheres. Confirm certification before any robot enters a classified area.
How does it connect to asset management?
Robot data is only useful if it reaches the people and systems that plan maintenance. Map each inspection point on the robot’s route to an asset ID in your enterprise asset management or maintenance system. Set thresholds so readings outside limits raise a notification or work request for an engineer to review, rather than sitting in a separate dashboard. Where the platform supports it, fleet software can export results through standard interfaces. Manufacturers such as Boston Dynamics describe fleet software and asset management integration as part of their inspection offer.
Decide early who reviews robot findings, how quickly, and how false alarms are tuned out. Keep images and readings long enough to show trends.
Connectivity and cyber security
Many substations have limited Wi-Fi or mobile coverage, and switchyards are harsh radio environments. Plan for private LTE or 5G, a local mesh network, or robots that store results and upload on return to the dock. Remote control of a robot inside a critical site is an operational technology question. Keep the robot on a segregated network and cover it in the cyber and supply-chain parts of your critical infrastructure risk management program.
Will it cope with Australian site conditions?
Check each item against your hottest, dustiest and wettest sites:
- IP rating of the robot, each payload and the dock, under IEC 60529 (first digit for dust, second for water)
- Operating temperature range, including charging, against summer peaks at inland sites
- Dust on lidar and camera windows, and a cleaning routine for them
- Rain, storms and cyclones, including where the robot shelters and how it is secured
- Terrain, such as loose gravel, slopes, drainage channels and wildlife in the yard
Who stays in control?
A robot should enter a substation under the same access and permit arrangements as any other entry, with an authorised person responsible for each mission. The robot only inspects: it does not operate switchgear, issue permits or isolate plant. Operators choose when missions run, can pause or recall the robot, and decide what happens with its findings. Start with one site and a defined set of rounds, run robot and manual inspections in parallel for a period, and compare results before extending.
Robotx can help you scope which rounds, sites and data flows are worth testing first.
Sources
- Utility Magazine: Powerlink unleashes new robotic inspection technology
- T&D World: Avangrid pilots mobile robot dog to advance substation inspections
- Boston Dynamics: Industrial inspection solutions
- DEEP Robotics: Quadruped robot deployment at power substations
- ANYbotics: ANYmal X, Ex-proof legged robot