Neura Robotics, E.ON and enviaM will train robots at TUM RoboGym in Munich on human demonstrations, robot data and simulation, then test inspection, substation monitoring and site security with Mitnetz Strom under real conditions in 2027. Mitnetz runs about 71,000 km of distribution lines, and the utilities keep their data and trained skills. This is a partnership announcement, so the live grid tests are still a year out.
At BIXPO, KEPCO demonstrated a virtual grid that models plants, substations and lines to preview where new renewables or a data center would overload the system, with apps planned for Jeju and Honam in 2027. It sat beside dynamic line rating pilots and LS Electric's 800 V DC to the rack work with LG Uplus. Validation is still planned for this year, but spare capacity on existing wires is being treated as inventory.
Auto Ontology is an Apache-2.0 framework that drafts an ontology from database metadata, grounds agent SQL in certified terms, and exposes read-only MCP tools for Databricks, Postgres, Snowflake and DuckDB. NVIDIA's speed claims are its own and no accuracy scores are published, and the README notes passwords can sit unencrypted without Vault. The common failure for plant data agents is a wrong metric answered fast, and this puts the definitions first.
For data and OT analytics teams: keeping agents on certified metric definitions before they query plant or energy data.
Dream Cloud is building an interactive simulator for industrial automation and robotics, with AS/RS unit-load scenes and an Open PLC track aimed at how plants are programmed and controlled. It is early and has very little reach so far. A plant you can click through is a cheaper place to learn than a live cell.
For students and controls engineers: a sandbox for PLC and automation practice before a live cell.
