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Simplified task

Torre1laurabeatrizA robot developed by technicians from the Companhia Paulista de Força e Luz (CPFL) has simplified the task of placing the aerial marking spheres on electricity transmission and distribution towers; the orange balls warn helicopters, aircraft, balloons and other flying devices of the risk of colliding with the power lines. “With the robots the spheres can be placed on the network without the need to switch off the transmission lines and interrupt traffic on highways”, explains Édino Tadeu Rios, a company technician who took part in the development, in partnership with Luciano Martelo and Sílvio Cesar Borelli, specialists in protection electronics. A robot with a camera is attached to a motor-activated cable and taken to the place where the marker spheres are to be installed. The whole operation is controlled by a technician who stays on the ground operating the machine by means of a video monitor. Currently, this job is done by operatives who hang from helicopters on steel cables.