LIVE-LINE REPAIR WITH TOMCAT.

When overhead lines are too hot to handle, a new remote-controlled manipulator arm can do maintenance and repairs that would otherwise put half-a-dozen linemen at risk. Tomcat (teleoperator for operations, maintenance, and construction using advanced technology) is the first remotely controlled system designed specifically for overhead transmission line maintenance. Its major component is an arm-like mechanical manipulator that can bend at the elbow and wrist, lift heavy objects, and perform delicate manipulations with various tools in its robot grip. Equipped with television cameras, the Tomcat manipulator is mounted in place of the bucket on an insulated boom truck, boosted up to the level of the conductor, and then controlled from the ground by a lineman viewing the work area on a video console. Because it can be programmed to repeat certain movements automatically, Tomcat can function part of the time as a robot or robotic system. For most applications, however, Tomcat is under direct human control and functions as a tele-operator, or master-slave device.