Behavior Control of an Automatic Inspection Robot for Insulators

Abstract

Abstract. This paper presents an automatic inspection robot for insulators installed on 500kV power transmission lines. In order to detect the poor insulators automatically, the robot's behaviors are analyzed, and a behavior control model based on Finite State Machine (FSM) is established. Moreover, an exception handling method is proposed based on sensors and timers. The results of experiments in the laboratory prove that the control methods mentioned above are correct and valid. Experiments on a 500kV transmission live line show that the inspection robot can not only automatically move along the double insulator strings with variable intervals, but also reliably handle the abnormal conditions including slipping, power shortage, deadlocking, sensor abnormity, and probe loosening.

Research on resistance detection robot for UHV tension insulator string

“…Korea Electric Power Research Institute developed an insulator testing robot [5], which is stable and reliable in motion, but its control is complex; Northeastern University developed a drape insulator testing robot [6] whose principle is simple and the volume is lightweight, but it is insufficient in the movement of stability, data processing, and carrying capacity. The crawler robot [7] developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Institute can detect efficiency, but only up to 15°sloped movement. In addition, most of the existing insulator robot is basically closed by gravity force, which limits their carrying capacity.…”