Avangrid Pilots Mobile Robot Dog to Advance Substation Inspections with Artificial Intelligence
08 Fevereiro 2024 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
Company collaborating with Levatas and Boston
Dynamics to launch pilot project
Among utility industry’s pioneers using
artificial intelligence to detect and analyze substation
equipment
Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company
and member of the Iberdrola Group, announced today a pilot project
with Levatas and Boston Dynamics to advance substation inspections
using artificial intelligence (AI) with the goal of increasing
reliability for customers. This project will deploy an extremely
capable mobile robot called Spot® modeled after a dog to complete
visual and thermal inspections at two substations of its
Connecticut subsidiary, United Illuminating (UI).
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“We’re very proud to once again be among the utility industry
pioneers pushing the boundaries of technology,” said Pedro
Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “Last year, we announced the
establishment of an in-house team to build unique machine learning
models to increase reliability. With this pilot project, we are now
exploring using AI in another aspect of our business where there is
great potential to bring high value to our customers and
stakeholders. This type of innovation will help us be more
efficient, target our investments, and increase reliability for our
customers.”
The pilot project will take place at UI’s Singer and East Shore
substations and test a variety of AI models, developed by Levatas,
to read analog gauges, record thermal images, and detect damaged
equipment. To do so, the robot dog—nicknamed Sparky by the Avangrid
team—is outfitted with a camera that has a 30 times optical zoom
and an infrared camera capable of taking thermal readings to
compare the transformer and breaker phases. There is also an option
to attach an acoustic sensor that can detect, locate, and visualize
changes in sound signatures, malfunctioning equipment, and other
noise anomalies in real-time. The robot also has a core processor
to enhance autonomous navigation and communications.
At the Singer substation, the project will test how quickly and
accurately the robot can detect and read several of the
substation’s analog gauges. At East Shore substation, the project
will test the robot’s ability to inspect transformers, circuit
breakers and capacitor banks. Initially the robot will be
controlled by an onsite operator using a tablet, which can be used
to both drive the robot and create autonomous missions. Avangrid is
also working to install software that would allow for remote
operation as well.
“It's amazing to see this technology, which was inconceivable a
few years ago, in our hands bringing value and benefits to our
customers,” said Catherine Stempien, Avangrid Networks President
and CEO. “While there will be many benefits, most important is
that we expect Sparky will increase the frequency of our substation
inspections so that we can see how our equipment is functioning
during different seasons, times of the day, and energy loads. With
this increased amount of data, we will have the potential to
proactively identify unknown issues and trends before they cause
outages that impact our customers. This is a great example of
innovation and technology helping us do more.”
"Levatas is thrilled to be part of the effort deploying
AI-enabled Spot robots within Avangrid substations as we automate
inspections to increase grid reliability,” said Chris Nielsen,
Levatas CEO. “The value being delivered by these solutions is
real and it's measurable, which is exciting because we feel that
we're just scratching the surface."
“We at Boston Dynamics are driven by a belief that agile mobile
robots can help solve real world problems,” said Marco da Silva,
Head of Spot Product Development at Boston Dynamics. “We’re
proud to collaborate with Levatas to advance Avangrid’s United
Illuminating plant reliability. This pilot will not only change
expectations of what robots can do, but it will also enrich
critical visual and thermal substation inspections.”
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be
the leading sustainable energy company in the United States.
Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $41 billion in
assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary
lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks
business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas
utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and
New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and
operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities
across the United States. Avangrid employs more than 7,500 people
and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and
2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best
corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities
and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable
Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical
Companies in 2023 for the fifth consecutive year by the Ethisphere
Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies
controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit
www.avangrid.com.
About Levatas: Based in South Florida, Levatas is the
leading developer of Industrial AI for use in automating industrial
inspections. Levatas creates and delivers computer vision software
solutions that enable robots, drones, remote sensors, and fixed
camera systems to autonomously perform equipment monitoring, safety
checks, and site surveillance tasks in industrial environments.
Learn more at www.levatas.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240208506585/en/
Media: Sarah Warren sarah.warren@avangrid.com
585-794-9253
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