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Hardware·1 min read

Humanoid robots to help inspect power grids amid skills shortage

Humanoid robots are set to inspect power grids in future, taking routine work off specialist staff as the energy sector faces a shortage of skilled workers.

A humanoid robot inspecting electrical equipment at a power grid facility.
Image: heise online
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Humanoid robots are meant to help check power grids in the future. The goal is to relieve specialist personnel, who are in short supply, of part of their inspection work.

A response to the skills shortage

The approach targets a problem that affects many technical industries: there are too few qualified workers. Grid inspections require trained staff, and every hour spent on routine checks is an hour not available for more demanding tasks. Robots that take over part of this work could ease the pressure on those teams.

The idea behind using humanoid machines is that they can operate in environments built for people. Details on which companies are involved, which robot models are planned and when the first deployments could begin were not available at the time of writing.

What it means

For grid operators, robot-assisted inspections would be one way to cope with a shrinking pool of skilled labour while keeping infrastructure monitored. The robots are described as support for specialists, not a replacement for them. How well they perform in real grid environments remains to be shown in practice.

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Tags:humanoid robotspower gridroboticsskills shortageenergy

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