Aging assets
About 70% of large US power transformers are over 25 years old, and replacements take 6–16 months to arrive.
Autonomous Power-grid Monitoring Robotics
Walking guardians of the power grid
APM Robotics fuses quadruped robots with partial discharge, thermal and acoustic diagnostics to inspect substations 24/7 — autonomously, safely and without outages.
We walk where the risk is.
Substations are the heart of the grid, yet most are still inspected by people walking the yard twice a day with clipboards and handheld cameras. Aging equipment, a retiring workforce and live high-voltage hazards make that model harder to sustain every year.
APM Robotics builds on APM Technologies' partial discharge (PD) diagnostics — trusted by utilities across Korea and the Middle East — to put expert-grade sensing on autonomous legged robots. The robot is the vehicle; the value is diagnostic accuracy.
24/7Outage-free live inspection
1,200+Inspection points per robot per day
4-in-1UHF · acoustic · thermal · visual sensing
IP67All-weather design target
Why now
Four pressures on every substation
Utilities everywhere face the same squeeze: more aging assets to watch, fewer experts to watch them, and zero tolerance for accidents or outages.
Workforce gap
Roughly half of the utility workforce reaches retirement age within a decade — taking inspection know-how with them.
Safety risk
Live high-voltage equipment can only be approached closely during outages, while liability for serious accidents keeps rising.
Inspection gaps
Twice-daily manual rounds, handwritten logs and selective measurements leave blind spots between visits.
Sources: US DOE (via Reliamag), POWER Magazine, industry reports.
The APM-R solution
One solution, three layers
APM-R combines a field-proven legged robot, APM's multi-modal sensing payload and the APM Insight diagnostic platform into a single turnkey system.
Robot Platform
Multi-vendor quadruped platform
- Spot · ANYmal · RBQ compatible
- Autonomous docking & charging
- 5G · private LTE · mesh networking
- Automated patrol routes & obstacle avoidance
APM-R Payload
Multi-modal diagnostic sensing head
- UHF partial discharge probe for GIS
- Acoustic (ultrasonic) imaging
- IR thermography + 30× PTZ zoom
- Edge AI diagnostic processor
APM Insight
Monitoring & diagnostic software
- PRPD pattern AI diagnosis
- Fusion with fixed APM7000 monitors
- IEC 61850 · SCADA integration
- Digital-twin dashboard
System composition
From the robot on the gravel to the operator's screen — every component of an APM-R deployment.
Product
APM-R inspection robot
Everything an expert inspector carries — on four legs. Tap a number to see each component.
- Thermal IR cameraRadiometric 640×512 thermography
- 30× optical zoom cameraGauge reading & visual anomaly AI
- Acoustic imaging arrayUltrasonic mic array for corona & leaks
- Pan-tilt gimbal & UHF probeAims sensors; UHF PD contact probe for GIS
- Edge AI computer & 5GOn-board PRPD diagnosis, secure uplink
- LiDAR & depth camerasLocalization and obstacle avoidance
- Quadruped platformGravel, stairs, grating — rain or shine
APM-R Payload
Six senses for the substation
UHF partial discharge
Detects PD inside GIS through spacers and windows — internal defects that acoustic-only robots miss.
Acoustic imaging
An ultrasonic microphone array pinpoints corona, surface discharge and gas leaks on a live image.
IR thermography
Radiometric thermal imaging finds overheating joints, bushings and cooling faults.
30× zoom vision
AI reads analog gauges, oil levels, counters and breaker positions.
Gas & SF6 (option)
Optional SF6 and ambient gas sensors screen for leaks along the route.
3D LiDAR navigation
Centimeter-level localization on gravel, stairs and steel grating.
| Sensing | UHF PD (300 MHz – 1.5 GHz) · acoustic imaging (2 – 100 kHz) · IR 640×512 · 30× optical zoom |
|---|---|
| Diagnostics | On-board PRPD defect classification · thermal & visual anomaly detection · gauge OCR |
| Endurance | 2 – 4 h per mission with autonomous recharging (platform-dependent) |
| Protection | IP67 payload enclosure design target · −20 °C to +50 °C operation |
| Connectivity | 5G · private LTE · Wi-Fi 6 · self-healing mesh |
| Integration | IEC 61850 · Modbus · OPC UA · REST API |
| Robot platforms | Boston Dynamics Spot · ANYbotics ANYmal · Rainbow Robotics RBQ |
Specifications are development targets and may change. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
In the field
A day in the substation
APM-R leaves its dock, walks a pre-mapped route past every critical asset, diagnoses on the spot and returns to charge — no outage, no one in harm's way.
- 01
Undock & plan
Missions launch on schedule or on demand from APM Insight; the robot leaves its dock fully charged.
- 02
Patrol & measure
At each point it captures IR, acoustic, UHF PD and gauge readings — the same every time.
- 03
Diagnose at the edge
On-board AI classifies PD defect types and flags thermal or visual anomalies within seconds.
- 04
Alert & report
Alarms reach the control room instantly, reports are generated automatically, and the robot returns to charge.
Software · APM Insight
Command every robot from one screen
APM Insight is the monitoring and control system behind APM-R — live robot feeds, a digital twin of the site, AI-diagnosed PD patterns and alarms that flow straight into your existing systems.
APM Insight
Substation A · 154 kVLIVE
Digital twin · PatrolR-01 · R-02
R-01 mission64%
Battery72%
Points inspected today1,148
Live · ThermalR-01 · CAM-IR
78.4 °C ▲PRPD · GIS Bay 3UHF
Floating electrodeAI 92%
Alarms3
- CriticalPD activity rising · GIS Bay 3
- WarningHotspot · T2 bushing B-phase
- NormalOil level gauge read · T1
Bushing temp · 30 days°C
Fleet & mission control
Schedule multi-robot missions, watch live video and take remote control when needed.
Digital twin
Every reading is pinned to the asset on a 3D site model, so trends are tracked by equipment.
PRPD AI diagnosis
Classifies PD as void, surface, corona or floating — built on APM's PD pattern library.
Asset health index
Robot patrols and fixed APM7000 monitors merge into one continuous health score.
Alarms & auto-reports
Severity-ranked alarms with evidence images; inspection reports written automatically.
Open integration
IEC 61850, OPC UA and REST connect APM Insight to SCADA, EMS and maintenance systems.
Why APM
Fixed + mobile PD diagnostics, fused
Most inspection robots listen for discharge through the air. APM-R measures it where it starts.
| Generic robot inspection | APM-R | |
|---|---|---|
| PD measurement | Airborne acoustic only | UHF + AE + acoustic combined |
| GIS internal defects | Limited detection | Directly detected via UHF |
| Diagnosis | Threshold alarms | PRPD-based defect-type classification |
| Data continuity | Only at patrol time | Fused with fixed APM7000 monitoring |
| Track record | Robot vendors | GIS PD monitoring supplied to utilities |
The robot is the vehicle. The value is diagnostic accuracy.
Market
From pilot to fleet
Robot inspection has moved past experiments. Leading utilities are scaling it across hundreds of sites.
270+Substations covered after SMUD's 36-month robot pilot (USA)
8,500Inspection robots planned by State Grid in 2026 (China, reported)
11–16%Annual growth of the substation inspection robot market
~900KEPCO substations moving toward unmanned operation (Korea)
Learned from ANYmal
IP67 & auto-docking
Utilities like SMUD and RTE proved that rugged, self-charging legged robots can run year-round outdoors.
Learned from Spot
Open payload ecosystem
National Grid's outage-free HVDC inspections showed the value of an open, swappable sensor payload.
Learned from DEEP Robotics
Multi-robot coordination
Coordinated legged and wheeled fleets at State Grid cut full-site patrols from about 2 hours to 35 minutes.
Sources: DTECH 2027 agenda, Jiemian (2026), QYResearch, Coherent MI, Electimes, vendor announcements. Third-party figures as publicly reported.
Applications
Wherever high voltage lives
Transmission substations
Outdoor AIS yards, transformers and breakers.
GIS & indoor substations
UHF PD on gas-insulated switchgear.
Power plants
Step-up transformers and plant switchyards.
HVDC converter stations
Valve halls inspected without outages.
Data centers
Incoming substations and electrical rooms.
Oil, gas & industry
Plant substations and motor control centers.
Cable tunnels
Long, confined routes patrolled remotely.
Site security
Perimeter and intrusion checks after hours.
Buy
System sale
Robot, APM-R payload, dock and APM Insight delivered and integrated as a turnkey package.
Subscribe
Robot-as-a-Service
Monthly subscription for robot and software, or pay per inspection round — no capital outlay.
Outsource
Diagnostic service
APM PD experts review data remotely and deliver reports, trending and maintenance advice.
Global
From Korea to the Gulf
We start with anchor projects in Korea and grow with the utilities that already rely on APM's PD monitoring across the Middle East — then expand to Southeast Asia and beyond.
KR
Seongnam, Korea · HQR&D, manufacturing and domestic projects
SA
Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaRegional office for GCC utilities
APM Technologies' PD monitoring has served
Saudi ElectricitySaudi AramcoSWCCGCC LabOman GridADNOCKahramaaEWAKorea East-West PowerKOSPO
Roadmap
2026 → 2029
2026 Q4 – 2027 Q2
Proof of concept
- Platform selection
- Payload prototype
- In-house GIS testing
2027 H2
Field pilots
- Utility & power plant sites
- KC · EMC certification
- Diagnostic AI training
2028
Commercial launch
- First commercial orders
- RaaS launch
- APM Insight v1.0
2029
Global expansion
- Middle East & Southeast Asia
- GIS-maker bundles
- International certification
Ready to put a robot on patrol?
Tell us about your substation. We'll scope a pilot, pick the right platform and show you APM-R on your own assets.
#1010, Geumto-ro 80beon-gil, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 13453, Korea
2989 Prince Mashur Ibn Abdulaziz, Al Mursalat, Riyadh 12461, Saudi Arabia