In power substations in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered humanoid robots have begun taking over inspection duties from humans, as the country continues to explore the deep integration of AI and advanced robotics.
The humanoid robots' precise inspections effectively ensure stable power supply to nearby communities, shopping malls, and stadiums in Guangzhou.
These robots were developed based on models created by a Chinese robotics manufacturer, with further technological modifications carried out by a tech subsidiary under China Southern Power Grid. The company enhanced the robots with additional sensors, improved manipulators, and increased AI computing power.
"The robot functions like a monitor. It guards us from making mistakes, like entering the wrong section or carrying out a wrong operation," said Piao Chunyu, duty director of the digital operation department of the Guangdong branch of China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd.
Many of the inspection environments reach temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius, making them unsuitable for prolonged human presence. Humanoid robots and robot dogs can autonomously perform equipment inspections -- using cameras and thermal imaging sensors, they can operate in environments hazardous to humans, accurately detecting abnormalities.
According to industry experts, while these humanoid robots and robot dogs applied in substation inspections are still in the trial phase, automated and AI-driven inspection equipment has already been widely adopted.
"The demand for automated inspection actually started before the 2000s. Daily operations and inspections of transmission lines required workers to climb mountains and cross rivers. Doing this manually was extremely demanding, inefficient, and the inspection quality was often inconsistent," said Mai Xiaoming, general manager of the intelligent inspection division in China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd.
Over the past two decades, the company has continuously implemented automation and AI technologies to enhance inspection efficiency.
"By around 2021, the power grids in Guangdong Province have achieved fully automated drone inspections for all transmission lines, substations and distribution networks," said Mai.
The power sector is just one of the areas where China is promoting the integration of AI and robotics technologies. In August, the State Council unveiled a set of guidelines on advancing the "AI Plus" initiative, providing a systematic action plan to embed AI into various sectors and support high-quality social and economic development.
According to the National Development and Reform Commission, which is the country's top economic planner, the implementation of the "AI Plus" initiative will involve introducing supporting policies and accelerating the development of standards across different sectors and industries. This will promote major projects such as the development of AI vouchers, and foster demonstration cases by guiding AI model developers, research institutes and leading enterprises to form cross-disciplinary teams, while encouraging local governments and companies to explore new development models.
AI-powered humanoid robots deployed to inspect power grids in Guangzhou
