For small 35 kV unmanned substations’ actual need, this paper develops an inspection robot for small substations. The inspection robot navigates by the magnetic track and positioning himself through the radio frequency identification technology. The inspection robot obtains an external view and infrared thermal image of substation equipment by carrying the HD cameras and infrared thermometer. The monitoring software is installed on the computer in the power company. Via the Internet communication, the monitoring software realizes the remote motion control of the inspection robot and the remote monitoring of the appearance and temperature of the equipment in substation. Finally, this paper achieves the automatic charging function of inspection robot by developing a charging mechanism.