Areas of application
Inspection robotics pays off where three conditions come together: the inspection round is repeated frequently, it is stressful or dangerous for people, and the points to be checked are stable enough to be taught once. If one of these conditions is missing, the effort is rarely justified.
In this section we go through, one by one, the industries in which these conditions are typically met.
Energy supply is the most advanced use case. Substations and switchgear are regularly checked for thermal anomalies, oil levels, meter readings and external damage – tasks that lend themselves well to standardisation and for which thermographic imaging is already part of the scope of inspection today.
Underground infrastructure is the second strong case. Walk-throughs in cable tunnels and utility tunnels are laborious, in some cases permitted only in pairs, and the environment stays the same – good conditions for recurring automated inspection rounds.
Data centres offer the most favourable technical conditions of all: level floors, constant lighting, no changing obstacles. As power density rises, detecting leaks in liquid cooling circuits becomes more important.
Other fields we cover: water and wastewater, with basins that are difficult to access and the question of hydrogen sulphide. District heating and gas networks, with a type of operator similar to that in the power grid. Steel and metalworking, where the temperature limit determines the scope of application.
For each industry we describe which inspection tasks can be transferred, which sensors they require, what structural requirements exist – for the charging station, for example – and where the limits lie. Even when the answer is that a robot deployment does not pay off at that point.
Starting point: Robot-assisted inspection in energy supply is the most detailed account and also shows how we structure the other industries. If you do not yet know whether a deployment pays off at all, you are better off starting with the guide for operators.
Change log (1)
- 5 October 2026 Initial publication First publication of the English version.
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These articles are available in German.