Abstract
The tracking and positioning of transmission lines is a key element for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to achieve autonomous inspection of transmission lines. Current methods are vulnerable to weather and environmental factors, have high costs, and have difficulties in data processing. Therefore, this paper proposes a transmission line tracking and localization method based on the electric field sensor array, which calculates the current UAV’s heading angle deflection angle, the distance between the transmission line and the UAV, and the elevation angle, providing a new idea to solve the problem of UAV inspection of transmission lines. At the same time, the electric field distribution of different arrangements of three-phase transmission lines was analyzed using COMSOL to determine the flight area of the UAV. By comparing the electric field distribution of the UAV flight area and single-phase transmission lines, it was verified that the current method is also applicable in the three-phase transmission line scenario, and it was further verified that the sensor array used can sense the change of the UAV position in the flight area, indicating that the electric field sensor array can realize the transmission line tracking and localization of transmission lines. The experimental results showed that, in the three-phase transmission line scenario, when the sensor array moves along the transmission straight wire, the maximum absolute error of the heading angle deflection angle calculated according to this method was 8.2°, the maximum absolute error of the distance between the array and the transmission line was 19.3 cm, and the maximum absolute error of the elevation angle was 11.37°; the error was within a reasonable range and can be used for the UAV to realize autonomous inspection.
Highlights
With the continuous development of the power system, the scale of high-voltage overhead power lines has grown unprecedentedly, and in recent years drones have been widely used in the inspection of transmission lines [1]
Reference [16] used electric field sensor arrays to achieve the localization for aerially charged bodies, but the objects targeted by this method differ significantly from transmission lines and cannot be applied to UAVs to achieve automatic inspection
This paper built an electric field sensor array according to the electric field distribution law of single-phase transmission lines; calculated the deflection size of the current heading angle of the UAV, the distance of the transmission line relative to the UAV
Summary
With the continuous development of the power system, the scale of high-voltage overhead power lines has grown unprecedentedly, and in recent years drones have been widely used in the inspection of transmission lines [1]. Reference [7] calculates the position of the UAV relative to the transmission line by building an array of magnetic field sensors. Proposed a safe distance diagnosis method for UAVs based on multi-sensor data fusion, which includes the field strength information obtained by the UAV This method does not calculate the distance between the UAV and the transmission line, but only gives a state of whether the UAV is currently safe or not. Reference [16] used electric field sensor arrays to achieve the localization for aerially charged bodies, but the objects targeted by this method differ significantly from transmission lines and cannot be applied to UAVs to achieve automatic inspection. A new idea to solve the problem of UAV inspection of transmission lines is provided
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