Smart robots of electricity sector

16:30, 13/11/2024

In order to reduce costs and improve production and business efficiency, recently engineer Hoang Ngoc Hoai Quang and four colleagues at Thua Thien Hue Electricity Company (Thua Thien Hue PC) have researched and manufactured a remote-controlled autonomous robot to serve the monitoring and operation of unmanned 110kV substations.

Research group on intelligent robot design at Thua Thien Hue PC

In 2021, engineer Hoai Quang and his colleagues consulted and researched the theory and operating principles to connect and form a remote-controlled robot. The structure of this robot consists of three main parts: the body, the drive wheel system, and the monitoring system. The robot is 500mm long, 300mm wide and 350mm high. The body is fabricated of aluminum alloy, ensuring the robot's sturdiness, and protecting the processor and internal equipment. The drive wheel system uses a chain belt system, helping the robot move flexibly, especially on outdoor terrain or in rocky road areas, etc.

This robot is installed with an additional monitoring system including a camera supporting post and camera. This system can adjust the direction, increasing the monitoring capacity to any position without having to adjust the robot’s movement, and so on.

The project leader shared that the robot design uses the OnShape 3D tool. The controller is built on the STM32F4 microcontroller platform, which is a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M MCU; 10DOF sensor, and distance sensor systems. The drive motor is a DC Motor. There are 2 cameras installed on the axis system that can control up and down movement, and left and right rotation to increase the observation area. Wifi and GPS antennas are installed outside the robot to increase connection quality.

When analyzing the application and processing of data on demand for synchronization, the research team chose a dual-camera solution to install on the robot. These are 2 types of surveillance cameras and thermal cameras. From there, the team members deployed a control model and data collection for the robot. Thereby, a data transmission and reception solution, a dynamic model, etc., are built to set up a control algorithm on the central processor, and so on.

Recently, the above topic was arranged to participate in the 14th Thua Thien Hue Provincial Technical Innovation Contest in 2024 and was highly appreciated by the organizing committee for its creativity and many outstanding features. This is an intellectual science topic designed and built by local electrical engineers. This robot product has a low-cost but effective practical application, saving on technology import costs, and creating a good brand for Thua Thien Hue PC.

Mr. Nguyen Dai Phuc, Director of Thua Thien Hue PC, said that the issue of automatic inspection of substation equipment has always been considered important by the sector. The research and manufacture of remote-controlled robots to serve the monitoring and operation of the unmanned 110kV substation by engineers is also the desire of the unit. This is a creative scientific research topic with advanced technology in the digital age of the Electricity sector. In the near future, the Electricity sector will replicate the model, bringing robots to serve at the unmanned 110kV substations in the locality, as well as the Central region and the whole country.


Translator: Mạnh Hùng

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