Design of an Intelligent Power Inspection Robot Based on AM5728

With the conclusion of the peak period for fixed asset investment in power systems during China's 12th Five-Year Plan, investment focus has shifted from infrastructure construction to intelligent operation and maintenance. This transition is unleashing significant demand for monitoring, maintenance, and servicing of power equipment. Traditional manual inspection methods suffer from high labor intensity, inconsistent inspection quality, and heavy reliance on subjective judgment, making them inadequate for meeting the rapidly growing demands of power equipment inspections. As a result, intelligent power inspection robots have emerged as a viable solution.

There are various types of power inspection robots. Currently, substation inspection robots and tunnel corridor inspection robots are the most widely used. These robots feature autonomous navigation, positioning, self-charging, and inspection capabilities. Leveraging dual-sensor fusion technology combining infrared thermal imaging and high-definition video, they can identify meter readings, current, and temperature anomalies caused by voltage within substations, enabling timely detection of equipment defects and significantly improving inspection efficiency. Today, power inspection robots have been widely deployed by State Grid and China Southern Power Grid.

Demand Analysis

A top-three domestic power inspection robot manufacturer based in South China has developed a new intelligent substation inspection robot to meet evolving market needs. To address the robot’s high demands for video processing performance and its operation in harsh environments—such as extreme temperatures, high humidity, and constant vibration—the company selected the Xinming (Xinmai) AM5728 high-performance embedded single-board computer as the robot’s main controller after extensive evaluation.

Challenges Faced

Complex video analysis and processing
Large number of sensors
Limited space constraints
Wide outdoor temperature fluctuations

Solution

The Xinming XM5728-IDK-V3 is built around the AM5728 dual-core CPU featuring DSP + ARM architecture. It receives and processes infrared and HD video data via dual LAN interfaces. The onboard CPU, combined with storage expanded through MiniPCIe, enhances the system’s vibration resistance. The customer utilizes multiple COM RS-232/485 interfaces to control the pan-tilt unit, wheel movement, and to collect data from multiple sensors. Additionally, the XM5728 supports independent triple display output (VGA + HDMI + LVDS), HD Audio, USB 3.0/2.0, SATA, and MIOe interfaces. It also supports Linux-based embedded operating systems, fulfilling diverse application requirements.

Key Features:

Equipped with 2x Cortex-A15 @ 1.5GHz, 2x C66x DSP @ 750MHz, 2x Cortex-M4, and 2x PRU
Supports OpenGL 4.4, OpenCL 2.1, and independent triple display: VGA + LVDS + HDMI
Flexible design with integrated multiple I/O interfaces; MIOe enables vertical specialization
Gigabit Ethernet support, HD audio, rich I/O interfaces including 2x COM, 2x SATA, SMBus/I2C, GPIO, 2x full-size Mini PCIe (one with mSATA), 4x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, and TPM 2.0*