A novel flying–walking power line inspection robot and stability analysis hanging on the line under wind loads

Abstract

Abstract. To address the problems of existing power line inspection robots (PLIRs), such as complex structural design, difficult landing on and off lines, short cruise times, and easy hitting lines, we propose a novel flying–walking power line inspection robot (FPLIR) with the ability to fly and walk. The structural design of an FPLIR is carried out, which mainly includes a flying mechanism and a walking mechanism. Compared with climbing PLIRs and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the FPLIR can quickly land on and off lines, easily cross obstacles, and have longer cruise times and steady inspection perspectives. In addition, a directing-push pressing component is designed to improve the walking stability along the line. We also investigate the walking stability of the FPLIR on the line when encountering working conditions with crossing wind. The dynamics model of the FPLIR on the power line using the Lagrangian equation is derived to analyze walking stability caused by wind loads, considering pressing force and walking speed. An optimized regression design with three factors (wind angle, walking speed, and pressing force) and five levels was adopted to reveal the effect of these factors on the walking stability of the FPLIR. The experimental results show that wind angle and pressing force significantly influence the walking stability of the FPLIR (P<0.05). The maximum swing displacement of the center of mass (COM) is 4.7 cm (when wind angle, walking speed, and pressing force are 90∘, 7.2 m min−1, and 0, respectively). The maximum swing displacement of the COM is 2.5 cm when the pressing force increasing to 39.4 N is reduced by 46.2 % (when wind angle and walking speed are 90∘ and 5.1 m min−1, respectively), which effectively reduces the influence of wind loads and improves the stability of the FPLIR. The proposed FPLIR significantly improves inspection stability, providing a theoretical basis for slipping control, collecting images of intelligence inspection robots in the future.

Variable universe fuzzy control of walking stability for flying‐walking power line inspection robot based on multi‐work conditions

“…As shown in Figure 1a, the FPLIR is a novel hybrid robot [15], which is composed of two parts: a flying mechanism and a walking mechanism. The flying mechanism mainly includes six flight rotors and an undercarriage to fly on and off ground lines and cross obstacles (e.g., line towers and suspension clamps).…”

“…Wind will affect the stability of FPLIR walking along the ground line [15]. Wind speed and wind angle are variable in high-altitude environments, and it is difficult to derive the robot state by collecting wind information.…”

“…Li et al [25] proposed the slipping control of FPLIR using ANFIS. Qin et al [15] studied the effects of wind angle, walking speed and pressing force on the walking stability of FPLIR. Alhassan et al [26] studied the stability of the dual-arm robot walking along power lines under the influences of winds.…”

“…Qin et al. [15] studied the effects of wind angle, walking speed and pressing force on the walking stability of FPLIR. Alhassan et al.…”

“…PLIRs can be classified into flying robots [3][4][5][6] (e.g., UAV), climbing robots [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] (e.g., multi-arm robots) and hybrid robots [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] (e.g., flying-walking power line inspection robots (FPLIR) [15]). Flying robots enable rapid inspections and across complex terrains, but they are limited by flight endurance and inspection accuracy.…”