A review of indoor-orbital electrical inspection robots in substations

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth understanding about the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot, which is useful for motivating the further investigation on the inspection of electrical equipment. Currently, electric energy has a strong correlation with the economic development of the country. Intelligent substations play an important role in the transmission and distribution of the electricity; the maintenance of the substation has attracted intensive attention due to the requirement of reliability and safety. The indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot has increasingly become the main tool to realize the unmanned. Hence, a systematic review is conducted systematically reviewing the current technical status of the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot and discuss the existed problems. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the most essential achievements in the field of indoor-orbital electrical inspection robots were reported to present the current status, and the mechanical structures and key inspective technologies were also discussed. Findings Four recommendations are provided from the analyzed review, which have made constructive comments on the overall structural design, functionality, intelligence and future development direction of the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot, respectively. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review study on indoor-orbital electrical inspection robots; it fills the theoretical gap and proffers design ideas and directions for the development of the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot.