Augmented reality for substation automation by utilizing IEC 61850 communication

IEC 61850 standard represents the most commonly used communication technology for new substation automation projects. Despite the fact that IEC 61850 provides a semantic data model and a standardized configuration description, these facts are underutilized in substation automation management today. This is specifically illustrated in the data visualization domain where new technologies such as virtual and augmented reality have reached significant maturity levels and have not been used for IEC 61850 system visualization so far. In this paper IEC 61850 features have been combined with augmented reality technologies for providing added value visualization capabilities in substation automation domain. The developed prototype demonstrates proof-of-concept solution for regular substation automation checks and maintenance activities.