Hand-eye-vision based control for an inspection robot's autonomous line grasping

In order to ensure that the off-line arm of a two-arm-wheel combined inspection robot can reliably grasp the line in case of autonomous obstacle crossing,a control method is proposed for line grasping based on hand-eye visual servo.On the basis of the transmission line's geometrical characteristics and the camera's imaging principle,a line recognition and extraction method based on structure constraint is designed.The line's intercept and inclination are defined in an imaging space to represent the robot's change of pose and a law governing the pose decoupling servo control is developed.Under the integrated consideration of the influence of light intensity and background change,noise(from the camera itself and electromagnetic field)as well as the robot's kinetic inertia on the robot's imaging quality in the course of motion and the grasping control precision,a servo controller for grasping the line of the robot's off-line arm is designed with the method of fuzzy control.An experiment is conducted on a 1:1 simulation line using an inspection robot and the robot is put into on-line operation on a real overhead transmission line,where the robot can grasp the line within 18 s in the case of autonomous obstacle-crossing.The robot's autonomous line-grasping function is realized without manual intervention and the robot can grasp the line in a precise,reliable and efficient manner,thus the need of actual operation can be satisfied.

Dynamic simulation and experimental study of inspection robot for high-voltage transmission-line

A mobile robot developed by Wuhan University for full-path hotline inspection on 220 kV transmission lines was presented. With 4 rotating joints and 2 translational ones, such robot is capable of traveling along non- obstaclestraight-line segment and surmounting straight-line segment obstacles as well as transferring between two spans automatically. Lagrange’s equations were utilized to derive dynamic equations of all the links, including items of inertia, coupling inertia, Coriolis acceleration, centripetal acceleration and gravity. And a dynamic response experiment on elemental motions of robot prototype’s travelling along non-obstacle straight-line segment and surmounting obstacles was performed on 220 kV 1∶1 simulative overhanging transmission-line in laboratory. In addition, dynamic numerical simulation was conducted in the corresponding condition. Comparison and analysis on results of experiment and numerical simulation have validated theoretical model and simulation resolution. Therefore, the dynamic model formed hereunder can be used for the study of robot control.

Impacts of flexible obstructive working environment on dynamic performances of inspection robot for power transmission line

The rigid-flexible coupling dynamic modeling and simulation of an inspection robot were conducted to study the influences of the flexible obstructive working environment i.e. overhead transmission line on the robot＇s dynamic performance. First, considering the structure of the obstacles and symmetrical mechanism of the robot prototype, four basic subactions were abstracted to fulfill full-path kinematic tasks. Then, a multi-rigid-body dynamic model of the robot was built with Lagrange equation, whil^e a multi-flexible-body dynamic model of a span of lin~ was obtained by combining finite element method （FEM）, modal synthesis method and Lagrange equation. The two subsystem models were coupled under rolling along no-obstacle segment and overcoming obstacle poses, and these simulations of three subactions along different spans of line were performed in ADMAS. The simulation results, including the coupling vibration parameters and driving moment of joint motors, show the dynamic performances of the robot along ftexibile obstructive working path： in flexible obstructive working environment, the robot can fulfill the preset motion goals; it responses slower in more flexible path; the fluctuation of robot as well as driving moment of the corresponding joint in startup and brake region is greater than that in rigid environment; the fluctuation amplitude increases with increasing working environment flexibility.

The obstacle crossing ability analysis and improvement of the cable inspection robot

In this paper, the climbing obstacle capability of the previous special cable inspection robot （ Model Number： XS1T-1） is analyzed. Static equations are established to analyze the relationships between the external forces and the maximum height of an obstacle. Parameters affecting the obstacle crossing ability are obtained. According to the analysis results, an innovated small volume, simple structure and light weight climbing mechanism is proposed （Model Number： XS1T-2）. A simplified kinematics model of the mechanism is established. With two powered wheels, the obstacle crossing ability of the XSIT-2 is improved apparently. For the robot moving without deflection, the relationships of two powered input torques are deduced. The comparison of the simulation results clearly shows that the climbing ability of XS1T-2 is obviously improved, and it can meet the demands of inspection.

A path planning method for robot patrol inspection in chemical industrial parks

Safety patrol inspection in chemical industrial parks is a complex multi-objective task with multiple degrees of freedom.Traditional pointer instruments with advantages like high reliability and strong adaptability to harsh environment,are widely applied in such parks.However,they rely on manual readings which have problems like heavy patrol workload,high labor cost,high false positives/negatives and poor timeliness.To address the above problems,this study proposes a path planning method for robot patrol in chemical industrial parks,where a path optimization model based on improved iterated local search and random variable neighborhood descent(ILS-RVND)algorithm is established by integrating the actual requirements of patrol tasks in chemical industrial parks.Further,the effectiveness of the model and algorithm is verified by taking real park data as an example.The results show that compared with GA and ILS-RVND,the improved algorithm reduces quantification cost by about 24%and saves patrol time by about 36%.Apart from shortening the patrol time of robots,optimizing their patrol path and reducing their maintenance loss,the proposed algorithm also avoids the untimely patrol of robots and enhances the safety factor of equipment.

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

To address complex work conditions incredibly challenging to the stability of power line inspection robots,we design a walking mechanism and propose a variable universe fuzzy control(VUFC)method based on multi‐work conditions for flying‐walking power line inspection robots(FPLIRs).The contributions of this paper are as follows:(1)A flexible pressing component is designed to improve the adaptability of the FPLIR to the ground line slope.(2)The influence of multi‐work conditions on the FPLIR's walking stability is quantified using three condition parameters(i.e.,slope,slipping degree and swing angle),and their measurement methods are proposed.(3)The VUFC method based on the condition parameters is proposed to improve the walking stability of the FPLIR.Finally,the effect of the VUFC method on walking stability of the FPLIR is teste.The experimental results show that the maximum climbing angle of the FPLIR reaches 29.1°.Compared with the constant pressing force of 30 N,the average value of slipping degree is 0.93°,increasing by 35%.The maximum and average values of robot's swing angle are reduced by 46%and 54%,respectively.By comparing with fuzzy control,the VUFC can provide a more reasonable pressing force while maintaining the walking stability of the FPLIR.The proposed walking mechanism and the VUFC method significantly improve the stability of the FPLIR,providing a reference for structural designs and stability controls of inspection robots.

Prototype Line Crawler for Power Line Inspection

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.

Prototype Monitoring System for Power Line Inspection by Means of a PandaBoard

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.