Smart grid technology firm GridSense has introduced a wireless camera to inspect high-voltage assets rated up to 500kV.
Introduced in 2013, the hotstick-mountable, high-resolution HighV Camera initially inspected a lower phase-to-phase voltage rating and the rating has now been increased to 500kV phase-to-phase.
GridSense said the HighV Camera, with its accompanying 7" Android tablet, meets the utility industry’s need to safely examine energized, substation-level high-voltage assets in great detail.
HighV poduct manager Jeff Benach said the new camera now provides a major advantage to the utilities.
"They can mount both the camera and the Android viewing pad on a hotstick and inspect energized 500kV equipment — everything from live power transformers and bushings, to contacts and connections, right down to name plates and serial numbers to enable repairs," Benach added.
Benach noted that with the new higher voltage rating the HighV Camera can now serve as a standard substation maintenance tool, simplifying and speeding-up fault-finding and root cause analysis.