Inspector gadget

China's first robot for inspection of extra-high tension electricity transmission lines has been developed in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province.

The robot, which can move freely along 500 kW power transmission lines and examine their condition, is the first of its kind, according to its inventor at the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA), a section of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

With growing demand for power supply in China, SIA said that the resultant higher requirements for power supply security and stability call for the replacement of human operation in the inspection of extra-high voltage power transmission lines.

The Shenyang Institute's invention of the robot was funded by the 863 Programme, China's high technology advancement plan initiated in March 1986, and the Northeast China Grid Company. SIA took over four years to develop the prototype.