Research on UAV Three-Phase Transmission Line Tracking and Localization Method Based on Electric Field Sensor Array

Abstract

The tracking and positioning of transmission lines is a key element for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to achieve autonomous inspection of transmission lines. Current methods are vulnerable to weather and environmental factors, have high costs, and have difficulties in data processing. Therefore, this paper proposes a transmission line tracking and localization method based on the electric field sensor array, which calculates the current UAV’s heading angle deflection angle, the distance between the transmission line and the UAV, and the elevation angle, providing a new idea to solve the problem of UAV inspection of transmission lines. At the same time, the electric field distribution of different arrangements of three-phase transmission lines was analyzed using COMSOL to determine the flight area of the UAV. By comparing the electric field distribution of the UAV flight area and single-phase transmission lines, it was verified that the current method is also applicable in the three-phase transmission line scenario, and it was further verified that the sensor array used can sense the change of the UAV position in the flight area, indicating that the electric field sensor array can realize the transmission line tracking and localization of transmission lines. The experimental results showed that, in the three-phase transmission line scenario, when the sensor array moves along the transmission straight wire, the maximum absolute error of the heading angle deflection angle calculated according to this method was 8.2°, the maximum absolute error of the distance between the array and the transmission line was 19.3 cm, and the maximum absolute error of the elevation angle was 11.37°; the error was within a reasonable range and can be used for the UAV to realize autonomous inspection.

UAV’s Status Is Worth Considering: A Fusion Representations Matching Method for Geo-Localization

“…Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been developed rapidly over the past few decades, and the flexibility and stability of UAVs are continuously improved. Currently, they are widely used in national defense, agriculture, mapping, and other fields [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Hassan et al [ 5 ] detect and count rice plants by using an unmanned aerial vehicle.…”

UWB and IMU-Based UAV’s Assistance System for Autonomous Landing on a Platform

“…However, sometimes dangerous zones with difficult accessibility must be reached by a human worker (or a group of workers), increasing the risks of the work. For this reason, there is a growing interest in the use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for infrastructure inspection [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. One of the main advantages of UAVs is their high adaptability to any infrastructure, as they can be used to inspect power transmission lines [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], surfaces in bridges and roads [ 4 ], wind turbines [ 5 ] or rail viaduct bearings [ 6 ] among others.…”

“…For this reason, there is a growing interest in the use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for infrastructure inspection [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. One of the main advantages of UAVs is their high adaptability to any infrastructure, as they can be used to inspect power transmission lines [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], surfaces in bridges and roads [ 4 ], wind turbines [ 5 ] or rail viaduct bearings [ 6 ] among others. As a consequence, the infrastructure inspection already makes 45% of the total UAV market [ 7 ].…”