Robots are helping to keep the lights on in China’s Anhui province.
New images from Getty show cute robots inspecting power lines, transistors and other equipment at a power station in the city of Chuzhou, in eastern China. The robots look remarkably like Disney’s lovable “Wall-E.” Don’t let that fool you, though. The machines are hard at work.
Humans tell the robots what to keep an eye on, but the inspector bots do their job on their own. They can rove around the site by themselves, collecting data for their human masters. They even charge themselves.
The robots gather information using two mechanical “eyes.” One takes photos, while the other uses infrared sensors to produce thermal images of power lines and transistors. Together, the two eyes produce in humans the irresistible urge to hug a lifeless hunk of metal and plastic.
This week, over 9 million of the country’s high school students take the national college entrance exam, the Gaokao. The Chuzhou power company is relying on its inspector bots to keep the lights on throughout the exam period, according to Getty. The Chinese government has called on the entire country to make sure everything runs smoothly during the grueling, and sometimes fate-deciding, test.
The robot inspectors don’t seem to be feeling the pressure, though. Here they are, adorable and inspecting away:
New images from Getty show cute robots inspecting power lines, transistors and other equipment at a power station in the city of Chuzhou, in eastern China. The robots look remarkably like Disney’s lovable “Wall-E.” Don’t let that fool you, though. The machines are hard at work.
Humans tell the robots what to keep an eye on, but the inspector bots do their job on their own. They can rove around the site by themselves, collecting data for their human masters. They even charge themselves.
The robots gather information using two mechanical “eyes.” One takes photos, while the other uses infrared sensors to produce thermal images of power lines and transistors. Together, the two eyes produce in humans the irresistible urge to hug a lifeless hunk of metal and plastic.
This week, over 9 million of the country’s high school students take the national college entrance exam, the Gaokao. The Chuzhou power company is relying on its inspector bots to keep the lights on throughout the exam period, according to Getty. The Chinese government has called on the entire country to make sure everything runs smoothly during the grueling, and sometimes fate-deciding, test.
The robot inspectors don’t seem to be feeling the pressure, though. Here they are, adorable and inspecting away:
