In South Africa, electricity is supplied through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power cables, which is owned by Eskom the national energy supplier. Currently monitoring of these overhead power cables are done by ...In South Africa, electricity is supplied through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power cables, which is owned by Eskom the national energy supplier. Currently monitoring of these overhead power cables are done by means of helicopter inspection flights and foot patrols, which are infrequent and expensive. In this paper, the authors present the design of a prototype power line crawler （inspection robot） for the monitoring of these overhead power lines in South Africa. The designed prototype power line crawler is capable of driving on the wire, balancing on the wire and is capable of maneuvering past certain obstacles found on the overhead power cables. The prototype power line crawler is designed to host a monitoring system that monitors the power line as the inspection robot drives on it. Various experimental tests were performed and are presented in this paper, showing the capability of performing these tasks. This prototype inspection robot ensures a platform for future development in this area.展开更多
The national energy supplier （Eskom in South Africa） supplies electricity through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power lines. The current methods of inspection of these overhead power lines are infrequent and e...The national energy supplier （Eskom in South Africa） supplies electricity through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power lines. The current methods of inspection of these overhead power lines are infrequent and expensive. In this paper, the authors present the development of a prototype monitoring system for power line inspection in South Africa. The developed prototype monitoring system collects data （information） from the overhead power lines, is remotely accessible and fits into a power line robot. The prototype monitoring system makes use ofa PandaBoard （SBC） with GPS receiver and 5 MP camera to collect data. Hardware fatigue is the biggest problem faced on the overhead power lines and is captured by means of the 5 MP camera and is displayed on a website hosted by the PandaBoard via Wi-Fi. The monitoring system has low power consumption, is light weight, compact and easily collects data. The data obtained from the prototype monitoring system was satisfactory and provides an improved solution for monitoring power lines for Eskom in South Africa.展开更多
For automated vehicles,comfortable driving will improve passengers’ satisfaction.Reducing fuel consumption brings economic profits for car owners,decreases the impact on the environment and increases energy sustainab...For automated vehicles,comfortable driving will improve passengers’ satisfaction.Reducing fuel consumption brings economic profits for car owners,decreases the impact on the environment and increases energy sustainability.In addition to comfort and fuel-economy,automated vehicles also have the basic requirements of safety and car-following.For this purpose,an adaptive cruise control (ACC) algorithm with multi-objectives is proposed based on a model predictive control (MPC) framework.In the proposed ACC algorithm,safety is guaranteed by constraining the inter-distance within a safe range; the requirements of comfort and car-following are considered to be the performance criteria and some optimal reference trajectories are introduced to increase fuel-economy.The performances of the proposed ACC algorithm are simulated and analyzed in five representative traffic scenarios and multiple experiments.The results show that not only are safety and car-following objectives satisfied,but also driving comfort and fuel-economy are improved significantly.展开更多
文摘In South Africa, electricity is supplied through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power cables, which is owned by Eskom the national energy supplier. Currently monitoring of these overhead power cables are done by means of helicopter inspection flights and foot patrols, which are infrequent and expensive. In this paper, the authors present the design of a prototype power line crawler （inspection robot） for the monitoring of these overhead power lines in South Africa. The designed prototype power line crawler is capable of driving on the wire, balancing on the wire and is capable of maneuvering past certain obstacles found on the overhead power cables. The prototype power line crawler is designed to host a monitoring system that monitors the power line as the inspection robot drives on it. Various experimental tests were performed and are presented in this paper, showing the capability of performing these tasks. This prototype inspection robot ensures a platform for future development in this area.
文摘The national energy supplier （Eskom in South Africa） supplies electricity through thousands-of-kilometers of overhead power lines. The current methods of inspection of these overhead power lines are infrequent and expensive. In this paper, the authors present the development of a prototype monitoring system for power line inspection in South Africa. The developed prototype monitoring system collects data （information） from the overhead power lines, is remotely accessible and fits into a power line robot. The prototype monitoring system makes use ofa PandaBoard （SBC） with GPS receiver and 5 MP camera to collect data. Hardware fatigue is the biggest problem faced on the overhead power lines and is captured by means of the 5 MP camera and is displayed on a website hosted by the PandaBoard via Wi-Fi. The monitoring system has low power consumption, is light weight, compact and easily collects data. The data obtained from the prototype monitoring system was satisfactory and provides an improved solution for monitoring power lines for Eskom in South Africa.
基金Project supported by the National Hi-Tech Research and Develop-ment Program (863) of China (No. 2006AA11Z204)the Qianji-ang Program of Zhejiang Province (No. 2009R10008)
文摘For automated vehicles,comfortable driving will improve passengers’ satisfaction.Reducing fuel consumption brings economic profits for car owners,decreases the impact on the environment and increases energy sustainability.In addition to comfort and fuel-economy,automated vehicles also have the basic requirements of safety and car-following.For this purpose,an adaptive cruise control (ACC) algorithm with multi-objectives is proposed based on a model predictive control (MPC) framework.In the proposed ACC algorithm,safety is guaranteed by constraining the inter-distance within a safe range; the requirements of comfort and car-following are considered to be the performance criteria and some optimal reference trajectories are introduced to increase fuel-economy.The performances of the proposed ACC algorithm are simulated and analyzed in five representative traffic scenarios and multiple experiments.The results show that not only are safety and car-following objectives satisfied,but also driving comfort and fuel-economy are improved significantly.
