Chinese technology giant Huawei announced at last week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona an updated version of its intelligent power transmission line inspector.

Using channel visualisation and tower foundation safety functions, it is said to address some of the key issues in manual line inspection and tower foundation perimeter safety. It is slated to help electric power enterprises detect each risk and protect each line.

Traditional manual inspection of power transmission lines faces a plethora of issues, including safety, management, efficiency, response, real-time performance and operational risks. To address these, Huawei developed its intelligent power transmission line inspector, which integrates intelligent vision, site energy and microwave backhaul. It ensures reliable data backhaul and visualises the status of power transmission lines in environments where signals are missing, power supply is unavailable and imaging is difficult.

The upgraded version adds several functions. These include radar-video linkage that constantly monitors the conditions around the tower foundation, securing the power grid.

The tower foundation is the skeleton that supports the stable and reliable operation of power transmission lines. However, it faces many artificial and natural threats. At the same time, manual inspection is dangerous and performed in harsh environments.

That’s why Huawei has added tower foundation safety to its upgraded inspector. Now, it can adapt to lines for various distances, manage up to 600,000 cameras, and process a wealth of data. The inspection centre and teams collaborate to support the inspection at every step. This is complemented by radar-video linkage, enabling full-coverage inspection and detecting any intrusions by unauthorised personnel in real time.

The inspector integrates four core capabilities: a wide of high-precision algorithms, secure and controllable self-networking technologies, lightweight and easy-to-install integrated products, and efficient O&M with fast iteration and long battery life. This protects each power transmission line by making them safe, efficient and green, and focuses on experience.

Users can replace manual site visits with intelligent inspection, remotely diagnose potential risks, improve inspection coverage density by a claimed 60 to 100%, reduce the annual frequency of power outages, prevent 90% of unplanned temporary power outages, and ensure stable and safe power consumption.

The system is said to reduce inspection time from 20 days to two hours. Users can link the intelligent platform and apps to digitise services, improving response speed and task processing efficiency by up to 30%.

It can also lead to a reduction in the number of inspection personnel and vehicles, cutting down carbon emissions. For example, for every 5000km of lines, it is expected to decrease carbon emission by 16.2 tons per year for each vehicle. In addition, it helps quickly identify emergencies such as mountain fires, protect nature, and improve power supply reliability.

Personnel do not have to work in harsh environments as often, thanks to intelligent devices; and, when they do, it offers a safer environment, improving personnel experience.

Huawei uses information communication technology (ICT) for integration with power systems, which is the foundation of the intelligent inspector. It features unattended inspection, visualised channels, simplified maintenance and lightweight work.

Founded in 1987, Huawei provides ICT infrastructure and smart devices. It has more than 197,000 employees, and operates in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.