Abstract:Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and prototype implementation of the "Cable Crawler", a mobile teleoperated robot for the inspection of high-voltage power lines which rides on the topmost ground cable. By not being limited to just moving from mast to mast, it implements an innovative mechanism that allows for crossing a set of mast tops as well as smaller obstacles autonomously. Design/methodology/approach -After a brief overview of the state-of-the-art for this application, the bas… Show more
“…The following equations describe error dynamics of the system. Therefore, control law for torque is (12)…”
Section: Ga-based Pid Controller Design For Optimized Crossing Pathmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Flight time is less because of the payload and self-weight of the robot. 'Cable crawler' [12] developed by ETH Zurich in 2010 is tested on a single cable by achieving required motion with less number of actuators compared to many of the major robots used in transmission-line inspection. The cable crawler is capable of continuous motion through the guide wires of the transmission tower.…”
The methodology of manual high-voltage transmission-line inspection is a time-consuming process, and also it involves high risk. The safe and efficient methodology of autonomous robotic inspection is needed to avoid these kinds of problems involved in the manual inspection. One of the challenging steps in the development of power transmission-line inspection robot is the design of a mechanism for crossing tension towers through the jumper cables and also avoiding obstacles in the transmission lines with minimum consumption of energy. Positioning of the robot in the transmission line and crossing the jumper cable are also difficult. This paper tries to find a feasible solution for these challenging issues. A novel design of the robot mechanism, positioning of dual arm for intelligent crossing and trajectory planning of arm based on minimum energy are presented. Optimum goal position for holding is determined using fuzzy logic. Ten degrees of freedom dual arm of the inspection robot is used for transferring a gripper hook to the goal position in the jumper cable through an optimum cubic trajectory for transferring whole robot from straight cable to jumper cable. Optimum energy trajectory is determined using primal dual interior-point method. This paper also presents the design of proportional-integral-derivative controller with genetic algorithm tuning for crossing from straight transmission line to jumper cable. Simulation study of robot motion through straight transmission line and jumper cable is also presented using ADAMS.
“…The following equations describe error dynamics of the system. Therefore, control law for torque is (12)…”
Section: Ga-based Pid Controller Design For Optimized Crossing Pathmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Flight time is less because of the payload and self-weight of the robot. 'Cable crawler' [12] developed by ETH Zurich in 2010 is tested on a single cable by achieving required motion with less number of actuators compared to many of the major robots used in transmission-line inspection. The cable crawler is capable of continuous motion through the guide wires of the transmission tower.…”
The methodology of manual high-voltage transmission-line inspection is a time-consuming process, and also it involves high risk. The safe and efficient methodology of autonomous robotic inspection is needed to avoid these kinds of problems involved in the manual inspection. One of the challenging steps in the development of power transmission-line inspection robot is the design of a mechanism for crossing tension towers through the jumper cables and also avoiding obstacles in the transmission lines with minimum consumption of energy. Positioning of the robot in the transmission line and crossing the jumper cable are also difficult. This paper tries to find a feasible solution for these challenging issues. A novel design of the robot mechanism, positioning of dual arm for intelligent crossing and trajectory planning of arm based on minimum energy are presented. Optimum goal position for holding is determined using fuzzy logic. Ten degrees of freedom dual arm of the inspection robot is used for transferring a gripper hook to the goal position in the jumper cable through an optimum cubic trajectory for transferring whole robot from straight cable to jumper cable. Optimum energy trajectory is determined using primal dual interior-point method. This paper also presents the design of proportional-integral-derivative controller with genetic algorithm tuning for crossing from straight transmission line to jumper cable. Simulation study of robot motion through straight transmission line and jumper cable is also presented using ADAMS.
“…The demerit of this robot is that the robot can run only on dual power-line. Cable crawler [14] is designed by ETH Zurich which traverses on a single cable by achieving complete freedom with less number of actuators. The cable crawler is teleoperated and is capable of continuous motion through the guide wires of the transmission tower.…”
Ground-based high voltage electrical line inspection is one of the difficult and highly dangerous job as far as a manual worker is concerned. The transmission line inspection by robots avoids temporary interruption of power supply that affects the end user and transmission grid. Also, robot-based inspection reduces maintenance cost and hazards. The electrical line inspection is normally carried out using binoculars and rarely by helicopters in most of the countries because of the low cost. Wire traversing or aerial robots are being used in Japan, Canada, USA and Russia for inspecting and monitoring faults in transmission lines and towers. However, most of these robots require a lot of human effort for installation due to its weight and complex design. Cost of these robots is also very high. This paper presents the mechanical design, fabrication and testing of a novel, low cost, light weight and compact power transmission line inspection robot. This work also includes kinematic, static and dynamic analysis of various subsystems of robot. Proposed robot is capable of traversing on straight transmission line and jumper cables present in tension towers. The robot has 10 DoF dual arm for crossing operation and a base system to achieve the locomotion.
“…1). Since then, several projects were initiated throughout the world [1], [3]- [7], with an intention to further develop potential high-voltage power line robots. This paper's main contribution is to present a comprehensive and updated review of a pioneer project that paved the way to a new area of field robotics: the power line robotics domain.…”
Historically, the inspection and maintenance of high-voltage power lines have been performed by linemen using various traditional means. In recent years, the use of robots appeared as a new and complementary method of performing such tasks, as several initiatives have been explored around the world. Among them is the teleoperated robotic platform called LineScout Technology, developed by Hydro-Québec, which has the capacity to clear most obstacles found on the grid. Since its 2006 introduction in the operations, it is considered by many utilities as the pioneer project in the domain. This paper's purpose is to present the mobile platform design and its main mechatronics subsystems to support a comprehensive description of the main functions and application modules it offers. This includes sensors and a compact modular arm equipped with tools to repair cables and broken conductor strands. This system has now been used on many occasions to assess the condition of power line infrastructure and some results are presented. Finally, future developments and potential technologies roadmap are briefly discussed.INDEX TERMS Field robotics, power line inspection, teleoperation.
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