Abstract
Many theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out in order to improve the efficiency and reduce labor for power line inspection, but problems related to stability, efficiency, and comprehensiveness still exist. This paper presents a multiple sensors platform method for overhead power line inspection based on the use of a large unmanned helicopter. Compared with the existing methods, multiple sensors can realize synchronized inspection on all power line components and surrounding objects within one sortie. Flight safety of unmanned helicopter, scheduling of sensors and exact tracking on power line components are very important aspects when using the proposed multiple sensors platform, therefore this paper introduces in detail the planning method for the flight path of the unmanned helicopter and tasks of the sensors before inspecting power lines, and the method used for tracking power lines and insulators automatically during the inspection process. To validate the method, experiments on a transmission line at Qingyuan in Guangdong Province were carried out, the results show that the proposed method is effective for power line inspection.
Highlights
With the development of the global economy and population, the power demand keeps rising, leading to an increasing scale of expansion of overhead transmission lines, of which a major part needs to cross regions with relatively adverse natural environment and complex terrain, such as rivers, mountains, forests and even depopulated zones, etc
This paper present the method of using a multiple sensor platform, which includes two steps, the first is to plan the flight path of the unmanned helicopter and the coordinates needed to perform the tasks for each sensor; the second is to complete all tasks automatically based on an exact target tracking algorithm, through which we can acquire different data about power line components or surrounding objects efficiently and accurately with different sensors during the inspection process
Longer distance between each two task points for the long-focus camera will affect the image resolution and viewing angle, so we should take a balance between data quality and task execution time based on actual power lines information when conducting power line inspection
Summary
With the development of the global economy and population, the power demand keeps rising, leading to an increasing scale of expansion of overhead transmission lines, of which a major part needs to cross regions with relatively adverse natural environment and complex terrain, such as rivers, mountains, forests and even depopulated zones, etc. A large unmanned helicopter is used here to meet the requirements for carrying the multiple sensors platform and to support the power line inspection over a long distance. It will be more effective and more comprehensive for power line inspection. This paper present the method of using a multiple sensor platform, which includes two steps, the first is to plan the flight path of the unmanned helicopter and the coordinates needed to perform the tasks for each sensor; the second is to complete all tasks automatically based on an exact target tracking algorithm, through which we can acquire different data about power line components or surrounding objects efficiently and accurately with different sensors during the inspection process.
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