BEIJING: Clearing ice from power lines is usually a job for people working in difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions. In Hunan, China, a flying robot has been put to work instead. 

The KICE-500 recently completed a field operation on a power line in Cili county, Zhangjiajie, according to Chinese reports. China Daily said the robot cleared about 500 meters of ground wire in 20 minutes.  

The operation took place on a 10 kV power line in mountainous terrain, according to Hunan Rednet.

The report described it as the robot's first real-world operation and said the system could attach itself to the line, remove ice, and move between sections of the line.  

When freezing weather covers power lines with ice, the extra weight can put stress on the infrastructure and make maintenance harder. Reaching those lines can also be challenging when they run through steep or remote areas. 

That's where the KICE-500 is designed to help. 

A separate report from Communication World Network describes the machine as a third-generation flying de-icing robot. It says the system combines cutting and crushing methods to remove ice and that the developer claims it can remove more than 95% of ice when the buildup is 18 to 20 millimeters thick.  

Those performance figures are company claims, rather than independently verified results. 

The 500-meter test is also better viewed as a field demonstration than a full-scale deployment. The available reports do not establish that the KICE-500 is being used routinely across China's power grid, nor do they provide enough information about its operating time, battery endurance, or how much human supervision is needed. 

There are also conflicting reports about how quickly the robot completed the 500-meter section. China Daily reported 20 minutes, while some Chinese reports citing People's Daily have put the time at 10 minutes. The 20-minute figure is the safer figure to use until the original source for the 10-minute claim can be confirmed. 

For now, the KICE-500 has shown that a flying machine can be used to tackle a very practical problem: getting ice off power lines without sending workers directly onto the line.