Insulator image autonomous recognition and defect intelligent detection based on multispectral image

Abstract

Insulator determines the insulation level and power supply reliability of transmission lines. The traditional operation and maintenance method of insulators has a large workload. This paper presents an insulator recognition and fault diagnosis system based on image recognition and machine learning. Firstly, the composite insulators in complex backgrounds have been identified by Faster RCNN algorithm, which helps to extract the image of insulators by drone shot. Then, the cracking of umbrella skirts has been carried out by means of image processing. Also, the contamination of composite insulator umbrella skirts is also identified. The appropriate feature quantity by Fisher’s discrimination is recommended, and the insulator contamination level has been identified by S component. Lastly, analyzing the infrared image of the insulator provides the basis for the normalization of insulator temperature rise detection results in different environments. Insulator image autonomous recognition and defect intelligent detection, which is based on deep reinforcement learning, is helpful for the operation, maintenance and repair of line insulators.