Photo: State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd.

On May 10, the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd. held a press conference in Xuzhou to launch its "Linghangzhe" system, the first low-altitude drone brand within the State Grid's framework.

Since 2015, the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd. has pioneered the R&D and application of drone technology within the State Grid system, and collaborated with many renowned drone manufacturers in China and abroad. Through these efforts, it has innovated application scenarios in power inspection, equipment maintenance, infrastructure construction, and safety management, culminating in a large-scale intelligent drone inspection system.

Photo: State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd.

The newly released "Linghangzhe" drones, equipped with onboard chips for power-related scenarios and customized algorithm systems, can be widely adopted for coordinated inspections of transmission, transformation, distribution, safety management during infrastructure construction, project acceptance, and more. Notably, these drones feature a lightweight design, long range, diversified on-board equipment, and customizable options.

In terms of inspecting transmission lines, manually checking the basic parameters of a tower takes an average of 20 minutes. In contrast, the intelligent data collection technology of "Linghangzhe" only takes 6 seconds, improving efficiency by over 90 percent.

Following five generations of updates, "Linghangzhe" has developed core technologies in intelligent flight and control, and information system security. Moving forward, efforts will be made to enhance coordinated inspections with multi-disciplinary expertise, diversify onboard equipment options, and explore drone-based intelligent maintenance for indoor substations. (Shen Xiaojie, Wei Qiangqiang)