Case Study: National Grid boosts safety and equipment uptime with Boston Dynamics Spot

Spot Becomes Part of the Team at National Grid

National Grid, a major energy provider, faced the challenge of inspecting its high-voltage converter station, a critical facility supplying power to New England. The hazardous environment of the thyristor valve hall, which could not be entered by humans while operational, limited inspections to a single annual outage, risking unplanned downtime. To improve safety and gather more operational data, they partnered with vendor Boston Dynamics and implemented its quadruped robot, Spot.

The solution from Boston Dynamics involved deploying Spot to autonomously inspect the hazardous hall and the wider facility using infrared and PTZ cameras. The robot was integrated with a mesh radio network, allowing operators to control it remotely from a control room. This enabled Boston Dynamics' Spot to perform bi-weekly inspections of the hall and regular thermal scans, dramatically increasing inspection frequency. The results included enhanced employee safety, the early detection of an oil leak that prompted a planned repair, and a wealth of new data to support maintenance decisions and potentially extend the facility's operational life.

National Grid

Dean Berlin

Lead Engineer