Towards Collaborative Autonomous Operations in Power Infrastructure: A Robotic Fine Manipulation Framework

Abstract

Gas-insulated substations (GISs) have been widely adopted in modern power systems due to their compact design and high reliability. However, the potential generation of toxic byproducts poses significant risks to manual operations such as gas pressure adjustments, highlighting the necessity for robotic deployments. This paper proposes a Robot Operating System (ROS)-based robotic framework with human–robot collaborative autonomy for GIS operations. The framework employs a 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) robotic arm, integrated with a motion control system for trajectory execution, a visual perception system enhanced by the coordinate attention (CA) mechanism for small-scale detection and localization, and a communication system for data exchange. The framework improves the accuracy of component perception and enables fine manipulation in complex environments, reducing reliance on manual intervention while facilitating a safe collaborative autonomous workflow through dynamic adjustment of autonomy level and control authority. Experimental results on the representative gas pressure adjustment task demonstrate an autonomous operational success rate exceeding 90% under the proposed configuration in dynamic scenarios. By enhancing safety and precision, this study advances robotic solutions for hazardous operations and lays a foundation for broader infrastructure applications.