Project Details

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Electrical Substation Vegetation Control Robot

Company: FirstEnergy Corp

Major(s):
Primary: EE
Secondary: CMPSC
Optional: CMPEN, IE, ME

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: YES

PROJECT 1 – HARDWARE AND PRELIMINARY SOFTWARE Develop a robot or similar type vehicle that will kill weeds in an electrical substation. Problem Statement: FirstEnergy has thousands of electrical substations across 5 states Substations are covered in gravel with an electrical ground grid to protect workers, weeds reduce the effectiveness of this ground grid and are a safety concern. FE spends millions of O&M dollars every year to have weed control contractors spray the substations to control/kill the weeds. A robot solution would reduce the O&M cost. Project Needs: Robot must be able to navigate gravel and larger stone terrain Robot must operate fully autonomous with no human interaction Robot must be able to recognize and avoid obstacles such was equipment foundations, open pits, fences, and materials in substation yards. Robot must be able to hold and spray a weed/grass control chemical (if chemical solution is chosen) Robot will have 2 spray modes - 1)open spray to apply a preemergent chemical (spray whole yard) and 2)in later months, spot spray any area that is growing weeds/grass Robot will need to recognize growing weeds/grass in order to operate in mode 2 Robot must be able to operate on a schedule (know time/date) Robot must be able to withstand strong electrical fields Students will test robot in pilot live substation near campus (FE to provide electrical safety training and PPE) Note that this is a phase 1 project with the deliverable being a prototype with basic functionality - additional projects will further expand and mature the capabilities. This project team should collaborate with the Docking Station team to ensure compatibility across solutions.