Development of a Robotic Flying Vehicle for Monitoring the Condition of Power Lines

Abstract

The prospects of putting in use a mobile robotic drone-aided system for monitoring the condition of power lines are considered. Monitoring and inspection of power lines are among the mandatory measures carried out by electric network companies in order to maintain uninterrupted operation of the power grid. During power grid operation, emergency tripping of high-voltage overhead power lines account for 25% of all disconnections in the power system. According to the existing practices, power lines are inspected by patrol linemen, who walk along the power line route for visually checking its condition. Inspections involving climbing/ascending over the power line supports are also carried out, which, however, are not always absolutely free from life-threatening risk. The condition of power lines passing in hard-to-reach-areas is inspected using a helicopter, which sometimes turns to be an economically unprofitable measure. It follows from the performed analysis that the main drawbacks of the existing facilities for monitoring the condition of power lines is that they provide insufficient information and that they are poorly adapted to operation under the conditions of a strong electromagnetic field. In addition, a helicopter is required to ascend these systems for monitoring a de-energized power line. The proposed project is aimed at achieving more reliable power line monitoring data and obtaining the possibility to perform remote visual inspection of the condition of power line wires. The proposed system is characterized by a number of new features. Thus, its design allows the system to be connected to the power line wires without the need to de-energize the line. In addition, the system and the input data processing algorithm reduce the information burden on the operator owing to the availability of video data analysis functions, which minimize the amount of background flow of video data. Unlike airplane-type unmanned flying vehicles, which need a specially prepared runway for takeoff and landing, the proposed system can lift off from any place, a feature that is of special importance for hard-to-reachplaces, e.g., in a mountainous terrain. The developed device can hover at the closest distance to wires and, if necessary, it can be put in contact with the power line wires. All these features make it possible to obtain a flow of high-quality information in different frequency spectra and foreshortenings of power line elements. Tests of the developed system have shown that the measurement data obtained from its mobile part feature high accuracy. In view of the fact that timely and reliable detection of flaws and unsatisfactory condition of power line wires and power line accessories is among the main problems faced by the modern electric power industry, the proposed system will find an extensive use in the industry.