Say hello to SSEN’s robot ‘Haggis’ - as named by Keith primary pupils

A competition involving pupils from Newmill Primary School and Keith Primary School has helped to name an autonomous robot which is helping check electrical equipment at a nearby convertor station

Inspired by Scotland’s national dish ‘Haggis’ was named during visits to both schools led by staff from SSEN Transmission. During the visits pupils were given the chance to operate the robot and find out more about its activities.

Now deployed at SSEN Transmission’s high-voltage direct current (HVDC) switching station at Blackhillock near Keith, Haggis which was first rolled out in February is responsible for monitoring vital equipment via a series of cameras and sensors including state-of-the-art visual, thermal, and acoustic imaging. The data it collects means staff can make informed decisions in relation to any future maintenance.

Developed by tech company Ross Robotics, the EXTRM MK4.1 is designed to monitor equipment between planned outages, when staff can gain access to facilities for in-person maintenance checks. Alongside remote monitoring, the robot can help limit the possibility of unplanned outages and disruption to the transmission network. The robot’s new home at Blackhillock marks the first time such technology has been used on the electricity transmission network in Scotland.

Rob Whytock, Community Liaison Manager with SSEN Transmission, said: “We were delighted to take our autonomous robot to Newmill and Keith Primary Schools and talk to the pupils about how science and technology is helping us in our operations. The pupils had the chance to operate the robot and put it through its paces in an obstacle course, and they asked us lots of interesting questions about its role and how it works which helped broaden their understanding. We’re especially pleased with the name the pupils chose for our robot in our naming competition – ‘Haggis’ was the clear winner and our staff couldn’t be happier with it!”

Tania Shaw, SSEN Transmission Innovation Project Manager, said: “Haggis has been performing admirably since its deployment at Blackhillock, checking the condition of our electrical equipment and assets in real-time, meaning we can establish and identify any areas which require maintenance quickly. Its deployment is an exciting step in our ongoing Ofgem-funded AIM High Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) Project with Ross Robotics and follows on from months of careful testing and configurations to ensure the robot was ready for its new home.
We will hopefully be able to deploy similar innovations elsewhere on our network in the future.”

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.