Research on the integration and application of thermal power station inspection robots and wireless charging technology

As the intelligent upgrade of the power industry accelerates, thermal power stations are facing higher requirements in terms of safety management, equipment operation and maintenance, and production efficiency. Traditional manual inspection methods are limited by environmental factors such as high temperature, high humidity, dust, and strong electromagnetic fields, and there are safety risks and hidden dangers of missed inspections. Therefore, thermal power station inspection robots with autonomous operation capabilities have gradually become an important part of the digital transformation of thermal power stations. At the same time, the introduction of wireless charging technology further improves the continuous operation capability of the robot system and provides high-reliability technical support for smart power plants.

1. Core functions of thermal power station inspection robots

Thermal power station inspection robots are generally deployed in key scenarios such as boiler areas, turbine rooms, centralized control rooms, and substation areas. Their main functions include:

1. Automatic inspection: Realize autonomous navigation through lidar, SLAM positioning, visual recognition and other technologies, and continuously inspect according to the set route.
2. Multimode data acquisition: Including temperature monitoring, infrared thermal imaging, electrical equipment meter reading, ambient gas detection, acoustic anomaly detection, etc.
3. Intelligent analysis and alarm: Combined with AI algorithms to identify equipment defects, such as overheating, oil leakage, abnormal vibration, smoke, etc., and upload alarm information when abnormalities are found.
4. Remote collaborative operation and maintenance: Supports real-time control of the backend platform and video backhaul, enhancing the remote operation capabilities of operation and maintenance personnel.

In the thermal power station environment, the importance of round-the-clock inspection has become more and more prominent, so ensuring the continuous power supply of the inspection robot has become the key to system reliability.

2. The value wireless charging technology brings to robots

Traditional contact charging requires mechanical docking, which is easily affected by dust, oil, vibration and other factors, and has high maintenance costs. Wireless charging technology provides the following advantages for industrial inspection robots:

1. Realize fully automatic energy supply
   The robot can autonomously drive to the charging area for non-contact recharging without manual intervention, greatly improving the continuity of inspections.
2. Adapt to complex industrial environments
   Wireless charging does not require metal contact points, which avoids damage to the charging port caused by dust, oil, and corrosive substances in thermal power stations, and improves the durability and safety of the charging system.
3. Support high power fast charging
   At present, industrial-grade wireless charging systems can achieve power of several kilowatts or even higher, meeting the needs of large-scale inspection robots to quickly replenish power in a short time and improving operation turnover efficiency.
4. Improve overall system security
   Wireless charging eliminates potential risks such as sparks and arcs, and complies with the strict electrical safety requirements of thermal power stations.

3. Application architecture: inspection robot + wireless charging system

A typical thermal power station inspection robot wireless charging system consists of the following parts:

1. Robot receiving module: Responsible for receiving wireless energy, rectifying it and converting it into rechargeable DC power.
2. Ground transmitter charging pile: Fixedly installed at the charging point, stably outputs high-frequency magnetic field to complete energy transmission.
3. Automatic alignment system: Use positioning systems such as visual recognition or UWB to ensure that the robot docks accurately.
4. Backend management platform: Real-time monitoring of power, charging efficiency, inspection tasks, etc., to achieve intelligent management of the entire process.

Through this architecture, the robot can automatically return to the charging point after completing the inspection task, achieving true unattended operation.

4. Typical application scenarios and benefits

Wireless charging inspection robots can be widely used in:

• High temperature point monitoring in boiler area
• Collection of operating status of turbine room equipment
• Inspection of dust environment in coal conveying system
• Automatic inspection of cable mezzanines and power distribution areas

The benefits it brings include:

• Improve inspection coverage and frequency and reduce manual risks
• Improve equipment failure early warning capabilities and reduce downtime losses
• Support the development of thermal power stations in the direction of digital and unmanned operation and maintenance
• Reduce long-term operation and maintenance costs and improve equipment utilization

5. Future development trends

As wireless charging efficiency continues to improve and inspection robots become more intelligent, future technology trends include:

• Higher power, longer range wireless energy transmission
• Robot autonomous collaboration and multi-machine linkage inspection
• AI-driven intelligent diagnosis and predictive maintenance
• Deeply integrated with power plant DCS/EMS systems to achieve unified dispatching

Thermal power station inspection robots paired with wireless charging systems are gradually becoming the core tool for the power industry to achieve intelligent and safe operation and maintenance. Its application prospects are broad and will play a key role in the future upgrade of thermal power station operation and maintenance models.