*This is a translation of the original Japanese press release.
Tokyo, Japan – October 8, 2026 – SENSYN ROBOTICS, Inc. has released the beta version of "POWER GRID Check for Substation" (hereinafter "PGC-S"), a remote inspection application for substations, based on technology established through joint research with Chubu Electric Power Grid Co., Inc.
PGC-S is a Web application developed specifically for substation inspection operations, inheriting the technical foundation and design philosophy of the "POWER GRID Check" series, which has been used in field operations for power transmission equipment maintenance since 2021. From creating drone inspection routes to transferring flight routes to aircraft, managing acquired data on an equipment-by-equipment basis, and registering/managing the status of abnormal areas on photos, everything can be completed within a single application.
Background
At substations, periodic inspections are conducted to visually check the condition of equipment. In the event of a failure, personnel are urgently dispatched to the site to assess the situation and formulate recovery plans.
However, during large-scale disasters, accessing substations can become difficult due to road blockages and other disruptions, making it time-consuming to travel to the site and confirm fault locations even during equipment failures. Delays in understanding equipment conditions can make recovery difficult, potentially leading to prolonged power supply disruptions.
Furthermore, system substations cover large site areas, posing the challenge of high installation and maintenance costs for continuous monitoring using fixed cameras. In addition, manual inspections involve areas that are difficult to check visually, such as the upper sections of equipment.
Drones serve as a cost-effective solution to these challenges, as they can move dynamically to necessary locations and efficiently inspect wide areas of equipment. Based on this concept, SENSYN ROBOTICS and Chubu Electric Power Grid have been engaged in joint research and development*1 since 2023 toward achieving smart substation maintenance utilizing robotics and AI.
Results of Joint Research to Date
First, both companies selected aircraft suitable for operation in substations and quantitatively verified their safety and durability under the special and highly constrained environment of substations through electromagnetic field (electric field / magnetic field resistance) tests, wind tunnel (wind resistance) tests, weather resistance tests, and verifications in actual substations. Next, they created automated flight routes from a drone dock installed within the substation site, confirming that drones could fly safely with high repeatability and capture equipment conditions from the same angle of view.
Furthermore, night flight operations were conducted at substations, confirming that sufficient resolution was obtained to read oil level gauge numbers and indicators, as well as to distinguish color differences caused by rust and stains. At the same time, an original manual was established to enable remote execution of pre- and post-flight drone inspections—which are mandated by the Civil Aviation Bureau's standard manual—building a structure capable of rapid on-site verification during emergencies.
A drone flying inside a substation
Having confirmed the practical viability of drone flights and data acquisition through these verifications, the next step was to begin developing an application to integrate the acquired data into day-to-day operations.
Issues Resolved by "POWER GRID Check for Substation"
Previously, creating drone flight routes and managing acquired data required the use of drone manufacturers' native applications or third-party software. However, in actual operations, challenges arose because these tools were not designed for route or data management at the substation or equipment level, and different applications were required for each manufacturer, causing operations and data to become fragmented when using different aircraft.
PGC-S resolves these issues by using the architecture (design structure) of "POWER GRID Check"—which has a 5-year operational track record in power transmission line inspections—as its foundation, designing it as an application that aligns with the reality of substation inspection operations in Japan. Designed to be vendor-agnostic, it allows inspection routes and inspection data to be managed centrally on a single application even when operating aircraft from multiple manufacturers.
Main Features of "POWER GRID Check for Substation"
Creation of Inspection Routes
Specify waypoints (points where the drone passes through and captures images) on a map to create an inspection route. When selecting the equipment to be photographed, the system automatically calculates the drone's heading direction and camera angle based on the equipment's location data, enabling consistent angle-of-view data acquisition regardless of the operator or execution instance.
Route Transfer to Aircraft and Flight Monitoring
Created routes are transferred to docks and aircraft inside the substation via SENSYN ROBOTICS' proprietary solution development platform, "SENSYN CORE". Because specification differences between manufacturers are absorbed on the platform side by "SENSYN CORE," operations can be conducted using identical procedures without worrying about the type of aircraft. During flight, telemetry information*2 can be monitored in real time.
Inspection Data Management by Equipment Unit
Acquired photos are managed in a hierarchy of Area / Maintenance Location / Substation / Equipment, allowing filtered searches. Users can draw bounding boxes around abnormal areas on photos, register abnormality types and comments, and track response statuses using categories such as "Unverified," "Under Ongoing Monitoring," "Scheduled for Action," "Completed," and "No Abnormality".
Left: PGC-S patrol route creation screen. Shooting target equipment can be designated for each waypoint.
Right: PGC-S inspection data list screen. Inspection history and status are managed by substation and equipment unit.
PGC-S is designed to transition routine inspection items—such as visual inspections of main circuit equipment (rust, damage, deformation, discoloration), oil leak and meter checks, visual inspections of outdoor steel structures and perimeter fencing, and condition monitoring of surrounding substation areas—to remote execution using drones.
Future Plans
Through this beta version, we will refine functionalities based on feedback and insights gained from actual operations. Following processes such as quality assurance and vulnerability assessments, we will gradually proceed with development and updates toward a commercial release targeted for around spring 2027.
In parallel, we are advancing development toward implementing automated AI abnormality detection using accumulated inspection data, further expanding compatible aircraft and docks, and widening the scope of target inspection equipment.
Moving forward, we will continue to evolve "POWER GRID Check" into an application capable of supporting not only power transmission equipment but also substation maintenance and preservation operations. Aiming to expand the scope of application across the entire general power transmission and distribution sector and broaden options for optimal inspection methods and equipment according to field environments, we will drive AX (AI Transformation) in substation inspection operations.
Notes
*2 Telemetry information: Data used to understand in-flight operational status, such as drone location, remaining battery level, and aircraft status.
What is "POWER GRID Check"?
"POWER GRID Check" is a transmission equipment inspection application that utilizes drones, based on technology jointly developed by Sensyn Robotics and Chubu Electric Power Grid. It is characterized by its ability to automatically inspect transmission towers (supports and insulators) and transmission lines (ground wires and power lines) in one go. The application ensures a safe distance between the drone and the equipment while performing automated flights to collect consistent data, allowing workers without specialized knowledge of drones to easily conduct transmission line inspections.
About SENSYN ROBOTICS
SENSYN ROBOTICS is a leading social infrastructure DX company with the mission of "evolving the 'natural' in society." We use the power of AI and data to solve the problems faced by society and businesses.
We solve issues such as labor shortages, safety risks, and rising costs that exist in the social and industrial infrastructure that supports Japan and the world with software solutions for data utilization that anyone can handle, making full use of the latest technologies, including AI.
Utilizing the know-how gained from a wealth of projects and our proprietary software development platform "SENSYN CORE," we provide comprehensive support from consulting to scenario formulation, business feasibility evaluation, technology and system development, and implementation in actual operations. We will help realize a sustainable future by solving social issues such as inspections of aging infrastructures, a declining workforce due to the falling birthrate and aging population, and increasingly severe disasters.
Head Office：4F Sumitomo Fudosan Oimachiekimae Building 1-28-1 Oi, Shinagawa-City, Tokyo Japan
Established：October, 2015
CEO：Takuya Kitamura
https://www.sensyn-robotics.com/en