Condition Assessment of the Cable Trench Based on an Intelligent Inspection Robot

Abstract

Accurate evaluation of the cable trench condition is the key to realizing its intelligent operation and maintenance, and the intelligent cable trench inspection robot is a reliable information acquisition method for the condition assessment of cable trench. According to task requirements and site’s environment, an intelligent inspection robot is designed. The crawler-type motion mechanism is determined based on the demand for sizes and obstacle-surmounting. Cartographer SLAM technology is used to map the underground cable trench environment, and a path planning method combined with the improved A∗ algorithm and dynamic window method (DWA) is presented. Multiple sensors are equipped on this robot, and various kinds of information are obtained. Based on the information obtained, a condition assessment method of an underground cable trench is proposed. An extension neural network model is constructed to assess air quality. Channel capacity and ground flatness are calculated to evaluate the internal structure of the cable trench. The water depth and water surface area are comprehensively used to evaluate the hazard of water accumulation. The evaluation results are used to realize the linkage control of the cable trench’s operation and maintenance. A field test shows that the intelligent inspection robot can reliably obtain seven kinds of information from the underground cable trench, and the proposed condition evaluation method can assess the condition of the cable trench and provide four kinds of suggestions for potential hazards.