Autonomous Drone System Development for Power Transmission Line Inspections

Abstract

Conductors and earth wires of overhead power transmission lines are visually inspected from the ground using high-magnification scopes, etc., but it takes time, labor, and a high degree of concentration not to overlook faults over the entire length of the lines. With the aim of resolving this issue for more efficient inspections, we have developed an autonomous drone system for power transmission line inspections, in which a drone autonomously flies along the sag of power lines and captures images of them to check for faults. This time, we captured images of actual charged power lines using the autonomous drone system developed for power transmission line inspections. This paper reports our results.