HiBot Expliner

Price not public

Discontinued · unavailableNot programmablePower-line crawlerLive 500 kV linesCounterweight armDiscontinued

UnavailableShipping: Discontinued.

Remote control: Not possible. Teleoperated through HiBot's own control station.

Overview

A line-crawling robot for inspecting live high-voltage transmission lines up to 500 kV, so lines do not need to be switched off for crews. It shifts its counterweight arm to balance while crossing spacers and suspension clamps, imaging the cables in 360°. Trialled on lines in Japan. Now listed as discontinued.

Type: Crawling robot · Climbers & inspection crawlers
Maker: HiBot (Japan)
Released: 2010
Price: Price not public
Status: Discontinued · unavailable
Best for: Professionals & labs
Programming: No programmability

Price and shipping

Industrial robot built for utility customers. Price never published.

Shipping: Discontinued. Discontinued industrial system. It was never sold at retail.

Specifications

Category	Crawlers, snakes & climbers · Climbers & inspection crawlers
Released	2010
Country	Japan
Availability	Discontinued · unavailable
Programmability	No programmability
Built-in autonomy	None / scripted · Moves only when controlled, or plays preset motions
LLM support	None · No built-in LLM and no SDK to connect one.
Best for	Professionals & labs
Vision sensors	Camera
Actuators	Unknown
Audio	No audio
Compute type	Arduino / ESP32 / microcontroller
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	150 × 130 × 150 cm, 95 kg
Locomotion	Rolls along a pair of transmission-line conductors on driven pulleys, a robotic arm shifts its counterweight to pass spacers and clamps
Compute	10 SH-2 32-bit microcontrollers, one ARM M4 board, 8-channel video capture with SSD
Camera	Arrays of CCD cameras with mirrors for 360° cable views, HD camera, infrared camera
Sensors	Proximity sensors, gyro, accelerometer, lasers
Runtime	12 V 40 Ah lead-acid batteries, ~8 h
Speed	1.68 km/h
SDK	None public