FTP

Transmission Line Maintenance Robots Capable of Crossing Obstacles: State-of-the-Art Review and Challenges Ahead
Kristopher Toussaint
Department of Mechanical Engineering McGill University 817 Sherbrooke St. West Montr eal, QC H3A 2K6, Canada
Nicolas Pouliot and Serge Montambault
Robotics and Civil Engineering Hydro-Qu ebec IREQ 1740, Boulevard Lionel-Boulet Varennes, QC J3X 1S1, Canada e-mail: pouliot.nicolas@ireq.ca, montambault.serge@ireq.ca
Received 26 November 2008; accepted 10 February 2009
Power line inspection and maintenance already benet from developments in mobile robotics. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state of the art. It focuses on mobile robots designed to cross obstacles found on a typical transmission line while using the conductor as support for traveling. Promising areas of research and development as well as challenges that remain to be solved are discussed with a view to developing fully autonomous technologies. Maintenance tasks, including inspection and repairs, are identied as high-value applications in transmission live-line work. Conclusions are drawn from experience, and the future of mobile robotics applied to transmission line maintenance is discussed. C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
1. INTRODUCTION
Strategic assets such as transmission grids need to be operated in a safe, predictable, and reliable way. To do so, maintenance strategies have evolved in re-
Serge Montambault has been project leader at Hydro-Qu ebec IREQ for the transmission line robotics research program since 1998. HydroQu ebec generates, transmits, and distributes electricity, mainly using renewable energy sources, in particular hydroelectricity. IREQ provides technical support to Hydro-Qu ebecs divisions by carrying out technological innovation projects in cooperation with universities, research centers, and industry. For further information, contact Mr. Montambault directly.
sponse to strict regulations and the inevitable aging of infrastructure. Recent blackouts and a steady increase in energy demand also put pressure on grid owners. Over the past few years, transmission line maintenance practices have been signicantly inuenced by innovative tools and working methods. As in many elds of application, robotics is making its mark on transmission line maintenance. Paula (1989, 1992), Earp (1996), and Parker and Draper (1998) were among the rst to present a comprehensive review of where robotic applications can play a useful role to meet inspection requirements in harsh environments. They identied robotic
Journal of Field Robotics 26(5), 477499 (2009) C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/rob.20295
478
Journal of Field Robotics2009
breakthroughs in elds as varied as nuclear power plants, highway maintenance, railway inspection, aircraft servicing, and transmission and distribution network maintenance. Montambault and Pouliot (2003) presented a literature review of innovative devices applied to transmission line maintenance. At that time, among such novelties as new sensors and helicopter-based methods, only a few robotic devices (all unable to cross obstacles) had found their way into real eld operations. More recently, Dai (2004) reviewed a number of robotic inspection devices, including one prototype able to cross a dead-end jumper loop under laboratory conditions. Since then, all over the world, the number and variety of reported initiatives with the goal of using reliable robotic technologies under real transmission line conditions have increased dramatically.
limits when it comes to obstacle crossing (warning spheres), travel along overhead ground wires (OGWs) (minimum dielectric clearance distance from phases), and negotiating specic conductor congurations (e.g., vertical circuits and conductor bundles). Insulated boom trucks are useless for spans over swamps, farmland, and snowy terrain and difcult to use on such circuit congurations as vertical circuits and very tall structures. A more in-depth discussion of the business case favoring robotics can be found in Chan (2003) and in Montambault and Pouliot (2004).
1.2. Hydro-Quebecs Early Work on Robotics Applied to Transmission Lines

Since 1998, three different robotic technologies have been developed at Hydro-Qu ebecs research institute (IREQ) in an effort to introduce robotics into transmission line maintenance practices. The rst, LineROVer Technology, was introduced on the grid e, and in 2000 and is described in Montambault, Cot St-Louis (2000) and Montambault and Pouliot (2003). Although initially developed for deicing, this remotely operated trolley is used on live 315-kV lines for such maintenance tasks as visual and infrared inspections, measuring compression splice electrical resistance, and replacing old conductors and OGWs using the cradle-block stringing method. The second technology, designed to operate on two-, four-, and six-conductor bundles, was developed in 2003 (Pouliot, Montambault, & Lepage, 2004). Based on a very simple mechanism, the prototype device can cross obstacles found on conductor bundles, including spacer-dampers and suspension clamps, in about 1 s. It was put on hold to develop an even more versatile system, the LineScout Technology, rst used on the Hydro-Qu ebec transmission network in 2006. These technologies have been developed from the start with the involvement of the end users, i.e., linemen and line maintenance technicians from Hydro-Qu ebec TransEnergie. Introducing very simple technology (i.e., LineROVer) helped robots gain acceptance in a traditional eld of activity. Doing so successfully depended on a good knowledge of line congurations, existing working methods, strategic transmission line maintenance issues, and strategic structures to focus on. A few design reviews were key to implementing feedback from eld maintenance personnel, and considerable work was invested in ensuring the robustness and the electromagnetic interference immunity of the prototype.
Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
1.1. Transmission Line Maintenance: Business Case for Robotics

Just a few years ago, it was commonplace for a lineman to work on a deenergized power line. Nowadays, live-line work is a must for most maintenance operations, and this need to maintain system availability is a key factor in the business case for robotics. Hard-to-reach locations such as spans crossing roads, rivers, railways, and electric distribution lines and spans through mountainous terrain are all places where a teleoperated robot is invaluable. Indeed, reaching strategic locations to monitor the condition of line components there leads to better asset management. A better knowledge of the condition of assets results in optimal maintenance investment decisions, in avoided or deferred costs (e.g., by extending the life of assets), and in enhanced reliability. Robotic technologies also have an impact on maintenance personnel safety through remote access to energized components and the inspection and evaluation of the mechanical integrity of a damaged conductor prior to repair by linemen. Compared to other methods such as helicopterbased work, using robots is often advantageous in reducing costs (twin-engine helicopter, fuel, pilot, and crew avoided), increasing efciency (quality of images and possibility of contact measurement), enhancing safety (of maintenance personnel and the public), and providing access to specic circuit congurations (e.g., vertical circuits, double circuits, and lines through residential areas or vegetation). Manned motorized trolleys also have their
Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots
479
1.3. Objectives of the Paper

This paper focuses on mobile robots able to cross obstacles while using the conductor as their support in traveling. Alternative methods such as helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, airplanes, boom trucks, and motorized manned trolleys will not be discussed here. The authors intentions in preparing this stateof-the-art review are threefold as reected in the three-part structure. The initial third systematically reviews and summarizes recent ndings. Some research teams have worked on complete systems, and others have focused on particular subsystems or specic functions. The middle third presents, from the authors perspective, the remaining challenges and key factors that must be considered along the path to successfully implementing such technology under real eld conditions. The nal third of the paper presents several types of applications, some not yet developed, from which transmission line maintenance personnel could potentially benet. In essence, whereas Section 2 is a typical literature review of an emerging eld of research, Sections 3 and 4 can be viewed by the international robotics community as a plea to tackle the remaining challenges in order to develop reliable, economically viable, and useful classes of new robotic applications. Section 5 briey summarizes a number of key ndings and presents a schematic view of the overall context for the future development of transmission line robots. Section 6 concludes the paper.
2. REVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECTS 2.1. Early Work

In the 1990s, a number of research teams presented their work on mechanical designs to enable robots to cross obstacles found on telephone, distribution, and transmission cables. Among them, Sawada, Ishikawa, Kobayashi, and Matsumoto (1990) and Sawada, Kusumoto, Munakata, Maikawa, and Ishikawa (1991) describe a wheeled trolley that carries an arc-shaped rail that extends to either side of a tower and serves as a support to carry the trolley to the other side. Although the prototype was never applied in the eld, time would show that the project was a pioneering effort in the domain. Aoshima, Tsujimura, and Yabuta (1992) presented a multisection structure that is suspended from a telephone line and can cross obstacles, including lateral lines, by pivoting the rear section around them. Tsujimura, Yabuta, and Morimitsu (1996) also proposed a suspended robot that walks along an overhead wire using dual slider-crank mechanisms that were optimized kinematically to provide a stable gait. These authors thus proposed various mechanical solutions and suggested that they should become autonomous systems dedicated to the inspection of power lines. Patents such as those of Kusafuka and Kitanishi (1991), Hanawa and Kobayashi (1994), and Ishikawa, Koshiyama, and Munakata (1997) also describe basic designs for devices dedicated to power line inspection. Designs from early work are illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Early concepts: left, Sawada et al. (1991; Ishikawa et al. (1997). Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
1991 IEEE); center, Tsujimura et al. (1996;
1996 IEEE); and right,
480
2.2. Complete Systems

Among the various projects that exist in this eld of robotics, only few resulted in validated prototypes that are close to implementation or highly developed. This section presents two exceptions in order to introduce key aspects of the technology, further discussed later in the paper.
2.2.1. Chinese Academy of Science The Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), in collaboration with other academic institutions, has been an active player in the development of such technology and has several collaborating teams working in parallel on a number of projects. Among the most advanced of these projects is a dual-arm robot designed for live-line inspection of extra-high-voltage power transmission lines (see Figure 2). As presented by Wang, Fang, Wang, and Zhao (2006), this platform is designed to hang from the OGW on its two wheeled arms, in order to have an optimal view of the conductors below. Inspections use a video camera pointed downward at the lines. The length of the arms adjusts to keep the robot horizontal and help keep the distance between the camera and its target constant. Each of the two wheels is equipped with a gripper that can securely grasp the conductor. The housing containing electrical and electronic components can be shifted forward or backward to center the mass on either of the two arms, as explained in Zhu, Wang, Fang, Zhao, and Zhou (2006a). An earlier version of the prototype and the governing kinematic equations were presented by Wang, Wang, Fang, and
Zhao (2005) and Zhang, Zhang, and Jian (2007). Initial simulations and design optimization are described by Sun, Wang, Zhao, and Liu (2006). This technology has two different methods of crossing obstacles. The rst, referred to as the cankerworm method, consists of centering the mass on the rear arm, lifting the front wheel, moving forward until the front has cleared the obstacle, and then setting the front wheel back onto the conductor. The same process is repeated for the rear. Using the second method, once the robot is near the obstacle, it can grip the wire with the front gripper for stability, lift and rotate the rear laterally to the opposite side of the obstacle, and then repeat the process for the front arm. These sequences and the associated control methods are presented in Zhu et al. (2006b, 2006c). These methods enable the robot to cross counterweights and crimp connection pipes and, using the second method, single overhead anchor clamps. Because the two arms are 240 mm apart, pairs of anchor clamps separated by a sufcient gap for one of the wheels can also be crossed in sequence. The prototype weighs 40 kg and travels at up to 2 m/s. To ensure safe operation, a motor current watchdog was implemented to detect any abnormalities and immobilize the unit until the situation could be analyzed by an operator. A prototype has been tested in the eld but the research team plans to further test its reliability under windy conditions. Its control scheme is based on an expert system that uses information from various onboard sensors and a static database to attempt to navigate along transmission lines autonomously. When the robot encounters an obstacle on its path, it matches it to a six-bit code to which a motion sequence can be
Figure 2. CAS prototype presented in Zhu et al. (2006, 2006b;
2006 IEEE).
481
associated. Two distinct methods were developed to enable the gripper to locate the ground wire when reembarking onto it. The rst, described in Zhu et al. (2006c), uses two laser sensors on each gripper. The second, described in Wang, Wang, and Fang (2007), uses the video signal from a single microcamera on each gripper. For this method, stereovision was deemed unnecessary because the distance to the conductor is a function of the ratio of the apparent to actual (known) wire diameter. The control system has not been fully tested, but Sun, Wang, Zhao, and Ling (2007) have proposed precision enhancement methods. 2.2.2. Hydro-Quebec LineScout The LineScout Technology developed at HydroQu ebecs research institute (IREQ), shown in Figure 3, was rst presented by Montambault et al. (2005) and then by Montambault and Pouliot (2006). The latter paper was selected to appear in Montambault and Pouliot (2007a). The two-wheel LineScout platform can cross obstacles by deploying a two-gripper auxiliary frame under the cable and securing a grasp on both sides of the obstacle. The traction wheels can then be released from the conductor, ipped down, and moved to the other side of the obstacle. The geometrical analysis underlying the optimization of the platforms structure was detailed in Pouliot and Montambault (2008). The mobile robot is designed to travel along single energized conductors, including one of the
conductors of a conductor bundle, and is immunized to electromagnetic and radio-frequency interferences (EMI/RFI) from lines of up to 735 kV. The LineScouts obstacle-crossing sequence takes less than 2 min and is versatile enough to clear obstacles up to 0.76 m in diameter and most series of adjacent obstacles. Such obstacles include warning spheres, spacer-dampers, and single- and double-suspension clamps. Crossing dead-end structures and jumper cables was not included in the design specications. LineScouts top speed is 1 m/s, and its weight is 98 kg. To the authors best knowledge, this is the rst and only robot of its kind that has been successfully used in the eld to date. The thorough validation to which LineScout was subjected is described in Montambault and Pouliot (2007b), and the methods associated with its eld deployment can be found in Montambault and Pouliot (2008). The decision was made to control the robot in a teleoperation mode, whereas systems were designed to later shift to an autonomous mode. LineScout relies on a variety of sensors for control and safety: three programmable pan-and-tilt cameras (PPTC), inclinometers, and motor encoders keep track of attitude. The core of the control system, at the operators ground station to which information from these sensors is sent, is a LabVIEW program and interface. To simplify and ensure safe control of its 11 motors (excluding the PPTC motors), it makes use of a mode operation strategy (MOS), which limits the number of actuators being controlled, depending on the specic task mode. Also, software interlocks
Figure 3. LineScout on a live 315-kV line. Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
482
override potentially hazardous instructions. To further facilitate control and inspection, preset targets enable LineScout to point its cameras to key locations on the conductor, taking the conguration of the frame attitude into account. In addition to having visual inspection devices, LineScout is equipped with a variety of sensors and maintenance tools. The range of tasks that LineScout can perform was recently expanded with the addition of the dual-end-effector arm module (Pouliot & Montambault, 2009). Whereas the near end of the arm is reserved for instrumentation, the far end is designed to accommodate a fourth PPTC. Thus far, a tool to temporarily repair broken conductor strands using annealed copper clamps, a universal electric torque wrench, and an electrical resistance measurement sensor are all instruments that can be used. This technology has been successfully deployed on several occasions when other methods were not possible.
active research teams have made signicant progress in one or more of these aspects.
2.3.1. Approaches to Locomotion and Obstacle Crossing Expliner, currently under development as a joint project by Kansai Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Hibot Corporation, among others, is a novel method of crossing obstacles, as presented by Debenest et al. (2008). When it reaches an obstacle on its path, Expliner makes use of an actuated arm that positions a counterweight beneath it so that it can raise each of its two wheel sets in order to pivot them to the other side of the obstacle. Expliner is targeted for live-line work with EMI/RFI immunity up to 500 kV and is compatible with single cables and with two- or four-conductor bundles. For work on bundles, the robot is installed on the two top conductors and can roll over most models of spacerdampers. The authors presented the key concept behind teleoperated control of the prototype. They described the functioning prototype in detail, stating its mass (84 kg), dimensions (500 1,060 715 mm), and speed (0.6 m/s). Possibly because they work closely with a power utility, the authors are among the few who actually proposed a live-line installation method. As shown on the right-hand side of Figure 4,
2.3. Work on Specic Subsystems

Mobile inspection robots are complex systems that can be seen as assemblies of subsystems responsible for aspects such as locomotion, control, and sensors. Although they may not have produced complete systems like the technologies mentioned above, many
Figure 4. KEPCOs Expliner prototype shown on a four-conductor bundle with details of its mechanical modules (left) and its novel installation strategy (right) (Debenest et al., 2008; c 2008 IEEE). Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
483
it is possible to secure an insulated rope onto the live conductor and tension it from the ground. The robot can then climb along the rope and transfer onto the conductor using its crossing strategy. Though preliminary tests have been successful, several features, e.g., weight redistribution, EMI/RFI shielding, and additional sensors, must be introduced or improved before it is fully functional and can be used in the eld. Rocha and Sequeira (2004) presented a feasibility study for a simple brachiating concept whereby a two-arm robot is suspended on the conductor and pivoting links allow one arm to leave the conductor and grab it again on the other side of the obstacle. The control approach and results from dynamic simulation were presented. Resulting from a joint effort by the Escola Su` perior de Tecnologia de Setubal and the Instituto ` Polit ecnico de Setubal, Tavares and Sequeira (2004) described a technology named RIOL that was developed by building on the work of Rocha but introduced a third arm in order to obtain realistic motor torques (see Figure 5). The locomotion gait achieved through a 10-step process is described, along with simulation results and the preliminary design of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC)tubing prototype. Tang, Fang, and Wang (2004a) and Liang, Li, and Tan (2005) both presented tribrachiation systems developed at the CAS. The multi-degree-of-freedom structure shown in Figure 6 allows a minimum of two traction wheels to be secured to the cable. For very steep slopes, the system presented can change how it travels from rolling to squirming. Each arm has a
Figure 6. CAS tribrachiation system, from Zhou et al. (2005; c 2005 IEEE).
grasper at the end, and these can alternately clamp onto the line to avoid sliding. Automating this mode of traveling, however, was not attempted. In reported laboratory experiments, the prototype can cross suspension clamps autonomously in about 15 min even when the line changes direction. De Souza et al. (2004) and Becker, Landre, and Santos (2006) published similar papers in which they investigated several possible architectures for line crawler robots. The former went as far as to analyze the perturbing effect of wind gusts on the architectures, and the latter generated various robot designs and performed a theoretical feasibility study on each. Rothman (2006), working with ABB Research, Ltd., described a two-part buggy that rolls onto the conductor and keeps its balance using counterweights to either side. Approaching an obstacle, the rear part is released from the conductor and pivoted by 180 deg in a horizontal plane. The other part can then move similarly to complete the crossing sequence. Recently, Wu, Xia, and Lai (2007) introduced another type of mobile architecture dedicated to power line inspection, referred to as the wheel-claw hybrid manipulator. This architecture presents two-drive wheels and numerous grasping units operated by a tension cable in a somewhat underactuated manner. Grasping stability is analyzed, but prototype design details have yet to be published.
Figure 5. RIOL crossing strategy (Tavares & Sequeira, 2004; c 2004 IFAC). Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
2.3.2. Computer Modeling and Simulations Certain researchers have focused their work on developing numerical models and simulations to validate and optimize a design.
484
Figure 7. Models used in simulations: left from Xiao et al. (2007;
2007 IEEE) and right from Nayyerloo et al. (2007).
Lagranges equations that drive the dynamics of all the joints of the two-arm platform shown in Figure 7 (left) were derived in Xiao, Wu, Du, and Shi (2005). Work has been presented in Xiao, Wu, Wang, Xie, and Li (2006), Xiao, Wu, and Li (2006), and Wu, Xiao, and Li (2006) to simulate the dynamic coupling between this (assumed rigid) platform and the exible line using Pro/E and ADAMS. Modal vibration analysis performed by nite element analysis (FEA) using ANSYS is presented in Xiao, Wu, and Li (2007) and in Figure 7 (left). A publication presenting the mechanical design of the platform in English could not be found, but it seems very similar to the one presented in Dai (2004) and reused by Fu, Zhang, Cheng, et al. (2006) and Fu, Zuo, et al. (2008). An alternative to rolling on the conductor is the passive brachiating motion, which consists of alternately swinging each of two arms forward like a monkey from branch to branch. Work has been done to implement this type of motion in line maintenance robots at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande in Brazil by De Oliviera and Lages (2006a, 2006b). The advantage of this form of locomotion is its ability to exploit gravitational forces, which increases efciency and therefore reduces power requirements. This project is still in the early stages of development and, in our opinion, will be very difcult to reliably apply to the unpredictable environment of power transmission grids. Jian, Tingyu, and Guoxian (2008) present a simple yet effective simulation that governs the centroid balance of a two-arm platform. The principle is to con-
trol the position of the electronics box at the bottom of the platform so that the resulting centroid location is close to the supporting arm. Nayyerloo, Yeganehparast, Barati, and Foumani (2007) of Semman University, Iran, presented a threearm architecture called MonoLab. Validation of the crossing strategy was obtained by an ADAMS dynamic simulation (Figure 7, right), and a scaled-down prototype was assembled for preliminary laboratory testing. 2.3.3. Control Strategy A distributed expert system (DES) based on the C language inference production system (CLIPS) was developed by the CAS and is implemented on the tribrachiating platform shown in Figure 6, as explained in Zhou, Wang, Li, Wang, and Xia (2005), Tang, Fu, Fang, and Wang (2004), and Tang, Fang, and Wang (2004b). The philosophy behind the control system is based on the fact that transmission line components are only slightly variable. Therefore, a database containing information on obstacles can be built, enriched during operation, and used to navigate the grid autonomously. The DES is composed of the CLIPS inference engine, a CLIPS knowledge base, a static database, an external information input module, and a decision-making module. The control system can operate in two distinct modes: autonomous layered control and direct control, which is a form of teleoperation. The layered control has four layers: the task layer, subtask layer,
485
Figure 8. Two-arm vehicle (Cai et al., 2008;
2008, IEEE).
Figure 9. University of Manitoba LCR concept (Peters et al., 2002, Fig. 2), with kind permission of Springer Science & Business Media.
movement planning layer, and execution layer. When operating in layered mode, the robots sensors detect a counterweight at the end of the ground wire, which initiates navigation sequence planning. Information on the current obstacle is retrieved from the database, which is referenced by order of towers. A motion sequence is then generated, and commands are delivered to the motors. In complex situations, this may not be possible and direct control is required. When a type of obstacle is rst encountered, it may take a long time to cross, but the procedure is learned and the process is much faster for subsequent encounters with the same obstacle. More recently, Cai, Liang, Hou, and Tan (2008) presented another two-arm vehicle that crosses obstacles by transferring a fair amount of its weight (the electronics unit) beneath the supporting arm so that the other (rear) arm can be raised and then pivoted to the other side of the obstacle, as shown in Figure 8. No mechanical details are provided. The authors describe, however, a fuzzy controller that commands the turning behavior of the robot, with a very simplied mathematical model. The intention is to separate the obstacle-crossing process into a dozen simpler steps. The stability of the fuzzy controller is assessed, and the performance is found to be superior to that of a regular proportional-derivative (PD) controller.
2.3.4. Obstacle Detection, Classication, and Identication This aspect is an essential step toward introducing some degree of autonomy. To achieve obstacle detecJournal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
tion and classication, Peters, Ahn, and Borkowski (2002) from the University of Manitoba, Canada, used several arrays of proximity sensors, installed on the body and legs of their line-crawling robot (LCR), shown in Figure 9. Information from these sensors is then analyzed with a neural classication system. Using several predened threshold values, obstacles are then assigned to a class to which a set of obstacle-crossing commands is associated. In Peters, Ramanna, and Szezuka (2003), the authors presented variations on the algorithm and concluded, through simulation results, that the technique is promising. At the CAS, Fu and his team of collaborators have been very active in developing features that break new ground in the area of obstacle detection and recognition for future transmission line inspection systems. The robot they built uses charge-coupled device (CCD) camera vision and three-dimensional reconstruction to extract the edges of lines, circles, and ellipses from the images, as explained in Zhang et al. (2006), Fu, Li, et al. (2006), and Fu, Liang, Hou, and Tan (2008). These two-dimensional features are then used to detect and discriminate between obstacles such as suspension clamps, strain clamps, and counterweights. Placing the cameras below the conductors and pointing them at an upward angle produces a simpler background, which facilitates target edge extraction. Obstacle recognition has been shown to work in the laboratory and in the eld under good lighting conditions. Interesting work that applies previous efforts to real eld conditions is presented by Fu, Zhang, Zhao, et al. (2006) and Fu, Li, et al. (2006). In these papers,
486
Figure 10. Line component identication: insulator dish (Fu, Li, et al., 2006; c 2006, IEEE).
the authors presented an efcient deblurring algorithm that estimates the motion due to the (unavoidable) vibrations of the camera and uses neural networks to restore image sharpness. Finally, Fu, Zuo, et al. (2008) presented results toward obstacle identication, where a self-learning algorithm manages to categorize and segregate insulator strings from the conductor or spacer-dampers. Some graphical results are shown on Figure 10. 2.3.5. Energy Harvesting from the Power Line Getting energy directly from the power line is seen by some researchers as a promising solution. Some preliminary work, similar to a feasibility study, was presented by Peungsungwal, Peungsiri, Chamnongthai, and Okuda (2001). In that brief paper, a simple twowheel motorized robot could travel at a speed of 3 m/s, drawing a 200-A ac current from the line. San Segundo, Fuster, Perez, and Mayorga (2006) also presented an encouraging demonstration of the feasibility of such a process when they managed to power a 24-V dc motor from a 300-A ac current. Both teams induced an ac current by placing a torus-shaped device around the conductors, but no data could be found on the power collected.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, presented a technology dedicated to warning sphere installation. Once installed on the span, the robot is teleoperated to reach the desired location of the warning sphere, where it can then install or remove a sphere without any further operator intervention. Field testing was successfully performed. The proposed system, however, lacks the capacity to cross obstacles. Jones (2004, 2006), from the University of Bangor, UK, is working on a concept of an uninhabited air vehicle (UAV) that uses ducted counter-rotating fans to hover over distribution lines for inspection. Although it does not travel on the conductors directly, it maintains contact with them in order to draw its power and loses contact only when it reaches an obstruction in its path. The technologys limited autonomy during free ight exempts it from British aviation regulations. Golightly and Jones (2005) presented an articial vision algorithm that effectively controls the position and attitude of this UAV with respect to the power lines and does so even in the presence of gusty side winds. Experimental results were obtained with a small-scale laboratory mock-up of a distribution line. Finally, Luo, Xie, and Gong (2005) and Luo, Xie, Gong, and Lue (2007) presented a maintenance robot developed at the University of Shangai to travel along the cables of cable-stayed bridges. Even though this technology does not aim to cross obstacles, the modularity of the design, in addition to the maintenance tasks it already performs under real eld conditions, makes it a noteworthy example of the future potential of any cable robot. Its ability to apply paint and to detect rust on inner strands is of particular interest.
3. PROMISING FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

As demonstrated in preceding sections, very important steps have been achieved in addressing some aspects of operating a robot on live lines and crossing obstacles on them. However, many issues have not yet been studied and great challenges must still be met to implement autonomous transmission line inspection robots.
2.4. Other Technologies of Interest

In Ruaux (1995), Electricit e de France presented a concept and design specications for an automatic machine dedicated to warning sphere installation. The system was to be mounted onto the conductors by means of a helicopter. Campos et al. (2002), from
3.1. Specications for Robots Dedicated to Live Transmission Lines

The most important issue that applied robotics must address is related to operating conditions in the eld
487
and their impact on robot design. Incorporating the factors in the sections below into the technical specications for the initial design can make the difference between a product for laboratory development and one producing tangible benets for operators. 3.1.1. Working on Strategic Assets: Reliability Issues More than in many operating contexts, working on a live transmission grid means that systems must be designed, tested, and found to operate in a safe, predictable, and reliable way. Such events as damaging components, creating an unplanned service interruption, or jeopardizing public safety should be inputs to a rigorous process of failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA). Conguration changes can be made within the life of a previously validated prototype, but the effect of any modication must always be assessed from a reliability standpoint. When necessary, validation testing must be repeated. Preventive maintenance, preinstallation checklists, and close battery life monitoring are further examples of what should be covered by standard work procedures to ensure the required reliability. 3.1.2. Robustness Severe design constraints come from the working environment of live power lines. If not waterproof, the robot must be splash proof (light rain, snow). Typical ambient working temperatures will vary between 20 C and +40 C. The design must also take into account conditions such as dust, snow, and UV radiation and mechanical shocks that will occur during transportation (all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile, helicopter, etc.) and the installation procedure (collision with the tower, etc.). On some occasions, robustness should be prioritized when selecting components for the robot. For instance, the choice of high-end sensors should be ruled out if they are not robust enough and cannot be adequately protected. 3.1.3. Live-Line Working Capabilities Electromagnetic interference is another major design constraint for onboard electronics, telecommunication systems, and peripheral systems such as sensors and cameras. These constraints have a huge impact on board design (effect of magnetic elds), geometric design (minimizing the corona effect due to electric elds), and overall grounding and shielding strategy.
Conductivity in every mechanical component should be maintained to avoid any electrical discharge within the structure. Overall dimensions and total weight also play a critical role in the live-line working capabilities because these features will affect safe dielectric clearance when crossing the tower or at midspan, due to the inevitable increased sag. Because 1,200-kV systems should eventually be commissioned in China, developers should aim for robots capable of working under the corresponding electric eld value. One should also expect the robot to evolve in the magnetic eld associated with 2,000-A current. 3.1.4. Installation Methods Successfully implementing robotics in the eld depends primarily on the level of knowledge of actual operating conditions under which the technology will be used. End-user feedback and input, as well as existing tools and working methods, must be considered as important guidelines in the early design of the technology, specically in developing the manmachine interface. Any need to install a somewhat sophisticated technology on an energized power line from a safe dielectric distance several feet over the ground using insulated hot sticks will have a major inuence on the design. Health and safety regulations and local codes should also be studied, when applicable. Various installation and retrieval methods must be considered, such as helicopters and insulated boom trucks. Figure 11 presents three examples of different installation methods for the LineScout project, all validated and performed by linemen. 3.1.5. Payload Capability Getting a robot to efciently roll along a conductor and cross obstacles remains the main technical challenge in implementing mobile robots on power lines. However, the main purpose of having robots on a structure is to perform useful, difcult, or otherwise impossible tasks. To do so, the higher the allowable payload of the mobile platform, the higher the value of the technology because it will be possible to install a greater variety of sensors or modules. Design constraints described earlier (such as overall weight and dimensions) have an adverse effect on the payload limit. Special efforts must be made to minimize these constraints, especially if maintenance work is the objective.
488
Figure 11. Installation methods developed and validated by line maintenance personnel, using insulated boom truck on a 69-kV circuit (left) and using insulated rope on a 735-kV line (center) and on the OGW above double 315-kV circuits (right).
As an example, a robust sensor dedicated to live power line maintenance is likely to weigh a bare minimum of 7 kg. With the addition of the deployment mechanism, associated motors, and proper shielding, one obtains a prospective payload of 1520 kg, which can easily represent 20% of the total weight. Proper functioning of the moving platform, including its obstacle-crossing capability, should then not be drastically affected by this payload. 3.1.6. Crossing Jumper Cables, Dead Ends, and Angle Structures In Montambault and Pouliot (2006), a systematic analysis was made of the obstacles to be crossed on a transmission line. Based on the breakdown of obstacles encountered and on which kind of line they were found, a business case was built to determine whether crossing a particular type of obstacle made it worth considering that obstacle as a design constraint despite the impact on system complexity, compactness and weight of the robot, control issues, electrical clearance needed for live-line work, reliability of the systems, etc. This exercise should always be performed and validated for each type of application. Dead-end and angle structures, such as shown in Figure 12, are a special case and must be examined closely. If the goal is an autonomous vehicle capable of inspecting hundreds of kilometers of lines without human intervention, one has no choice but to address the problem of crossing dead-end towers. This is a highly strategic decision because it is likely to impose a physical limit on the maximum size of the obstacle
Figure 12. Jumper cables located at an angle tower.
that can be crossed. Interestingly, several robot architectures proposed in Section 2 avoid this limitation by running only along OGWs (where no loose strands are usually installed). However, in such cases, the authors lean toward developing strictly autonomous line inspection robots instead of potential maintenance robots.
3.2. Battery Technologies and Recharging Strategies

Many factors inuence the choice of the optimal power supply: instant power needed, total energy needed for sufcient autonomy, weight limit, operating temperature, specic safety-related issues, type
489
of actuators, sensors used, etc. As with most reported tools, LineScout uses electric motors. Therefore, the analysis clearly pointed toward an electric power supply. Gasoline generators were excluded based on instant power requirements (up to 600 W) and safety issues. The choice was made to use a battery for onboard power. Technology is progressing very quickly in this area but a Li-ion battery remains the best choice for up to 1 day of energy autonomy. Assembling a reliable and efcient mobile online induction module remains a challenge. A battery is still likely to be required to provide instant peak power and energy during obstacle crossing, to offer the possibility of working on a deenergized line or the OGW, etc. At present, recharging the battery using the energy recovered on downward gradients, using the power lines electric eld, and installing solar panels or a wind turbine all seem, at best, a means of increasing autonomy, not of becoming the sole energy source.
3.3. Telecommunication Systems

Telecommunication systems selected must comply with local regulations (type of technology, frequency, and power level) and remain reliable under severe conditions of electromagnetic interference. Achieving a fully autonomous robot capable of inspecting lines hundreds of kilometers long without human intervention probably excludes line-of-sight systems, unless repeaters are used. To overcome this constraint, Liang, Li, Tan, Liu, and Rees (2005) demonstrated the feasibility of operating an inspection robot based on wireless local Internet. Of course, for transmission lines located in very remote areas, a broadband satellite Internet link should be established, which requires cumbersome dish antennas and greater power consumption. A means of avoiding this would be to increase onboard computational power and autonomy, which, on the other hand, could decrease the robots robustness and reliability.
3.4. Obstacle Detection and Autonomous Crossing

Although numerous studies related to power line robots have been produced, only a small number of teams have tackled the objective of obstacle detection and recognition (see Section 2.3.4). This step is, however, essential both for designing an autonomous robot and for safely operating it.
Even in teleoperated systems, obstacle detection is an interesting safety feature to avoid mistaken operator commands. However, such a system should be 100% reliable at detecting, from a reasonable distance, anything differing from the supporting cable. Large-diameter aerial markers, suspension clamps, and even vibration dampers can be easy to detect due to their size. Furthermore, these components are located at predictable locations and may be stored in a database. Broken strands due to lightning strikes and midspan compression splices, however, may be located anywhere along spans and could greatly hamper the line robots progress if undetected. Such obstacles are much more challenging to detect and should be part of the detection system specications. False detection that requires operator conrmation should be tolerated given the consequences of nondetection. A great deal of work remains to be done, notably in areas such as sensor design, sensor fusion, vision, and computing. Results for image deblurring are encouraging because vibrations will inevitably cause noisier signals from sensors. Once obstacle detection, sizing, and recognition are achieved, autonomous crossing is the next step. Designing robust algorithms that allow obstacles to be crossed unmonitored by an operator is a challenge. Running into unexpected obstacles is more frequent than usually suspected on an aging power line. Also, there are many possible series of obstacles, making obstacle-crossing strategy a complex matter, because component integrity, public safety, and service continuity are on top of the priority list. The change in horizontal angle of the conductor at a lattice structure may make it a challenge to nd the conductor at the other side of the suspension clamp. As numerous electric utilities have already built a georeferenced database of the major transmission network equipment (i.e., towers), the introduction of an onboard global positioning system (GPS) would allow logging any ndings such as defects into the same georeferenced database, allowing efcient use of the gathered information for optimal maintenance strategy.
3.5. Status of Research

Technologies now vary greatly in their level of advancement. Some studies are applied; others are theoretical in nature. Different challenges are being addressed by different teams. This seems very
490
ical enhancement should take place for application modules. As presented in the next section, maintenance activities are within the reach of transmission line robots but should be preceded by inspection activities.
4. FUTURE APPLICATIONS IN TRANSMISSION LINE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE

This section covers the future of transmission line robots and attempts to list new potential applications that could benet electrical utilities. Being part of a major electrical utility, the authors have a privileged vantage point to anticipate these needs, as expressed in Montambault and Pouliot (2004). However, other organizations throughout the world are reaching similar conclusions, such as Earp (1996), Chan (2003), BPA (2006), BCTC (2008), and Vadakkepat and Janardhanan (2008). Potential applications are broken down into two categories: inspection and maintenance.
Figure 13. Fields of research required to achieve the actual application of transmission line robots.
4.1. Inspection and Sensors

As a robot progresses along a power line, its main purpose is to be able to inspect its environment. Retrieved information is later analyzed ofine and will ultimately serve as a basis for automated power line component diagnostics. In fact, a wide variety of signals could be collected: visual, electrical, thermal, audible, etc. Jiang and Mamishev (2004) reviewed technologies applicable to underground power system monitoring, most of which can also be applied to overhead transmission line diagnostics. 4.1.1. Visual Information As with many elds of inspection, visual information remains the most common, practical, and easily collected data. In transmission line maintenance, visual data provide important information of many types: defective components (insulators, vibration dampers, spacer-dampers, corona rings, warning spheres, splices, and structures), broken strands, corrosion of structures, vegetation encroaching upon the right-of-way, etc. Allowing a team of line maintenance personnel to view and discuss this information at ground level is also very worthwhile. Furthermore, archiving such information for future consultation or use in eld reports is of even more benet. Figure 14 gives typical examples of line
promising because complementary and collaborative efforts could emerge under such conditions. Figure 13 illustrates the different levels of technological advancement that would lead to usable transmission line robots. The gure also indicates qualitatively where results are numerous (shaded boxes) and where there is still room for a wide range of original work (white boxes). As suggested by the gure, a moving platform must be equipped, minimally, with application modules. The combination of both platform and modules must comply with transmission line specications, and this must be thoroughly validated before it can be applied. In other words, even if advanced features such as autonomous crossing and obstacle detection are likely to be introduced in very advanced robots, sound and simpler teleoperated technologies, equipped with valuable application modules, should be validated and introduced progressively into line maintenance practices. This would generate positive experiences, increase the developers eld of expertise, and initiate the technology acceptance process. Progressively, advanced features are likely to be introduced in previously validated systems in order to enhance their performance. The same technolog-
491
Figure 14. Typical line component images collected by robotic inspection.
component images collected over the years using robots. Remaining work in visual inspection includes the development of high-resolution yet compact and robust cameras, image stabilizer algorithms, etc. 4.1.2. Specialized Sensors Commercial sensors, used and validated by linemen and developed by specialized companies, are available as commercial products. Whenever possible, robot developers should seek to equip their mobile platforms with such sensors, in a modular way. The remaining challenge is then to pick up and archive the data ow emanating from the sensors. Managing the extra payload and extra volume associated with sensors can also be a challenge. Following is a list of examples of such sensors. Splice electrical resistance measurement Compression splices are line components that need to be evaluated on a regular basis. Because measuring the electrical resistance is the most direct and precise way of evaluating the condition of a splice, it is the rst application module that was implemented on line robots (Montambault & Pouliot, 2003). ACSR steel core corrosion detection In some parts of the world, high humidity and salt air combine to accelerate corrosion of the steel core of ACSR (aluminum conductor steel reinforced) cables. Different sensor technologies are known to be effective in detecting corrosion or the loss of the galva-
nized coating. Eddy-current sensors are used in some commercially available technologies, but other technologies are also emerging. Broken strand detection (inner layer) Aluminum strands of the inner layer of ACSR cables sometimes break, most of the time near suspension clamps, splices, and other areas of high mechanical stress. Some technologies seem to detect such strands under certain conditions, but extensive measurement programs still need to be conducted for validation. Portable X-ray sensors are among the potential technologies to be examined. Insulator dielectric verication A few sensors exist for validating the dielectric strength of insulators. Instead of climbing every support structure to check insulators, linemen could use teleoperated robots to access insulator strings. Performing this task on a live line clearly presents the challenge of avoiding ashover because insulators need to be electrically bypassed.
4.1.3. Infrared Cameras and Corona Detection Because hot spots are often an indication of anomalies in components, infrared (IR) cameras have already been incorporated into electrical equipment maintenance practices. Putting an IR camera on the line, however, helps achieve better spatial resolution and obtain otherwise impossible camera angles. Ultraviolet (UV) emissions due to the corona effect (or local discharges) can be another symptom shown by some
492
Figure 15. Broken strand visible by IR detection (left) and UV emissions detected with bispectral imaging, emanating from an earlier version of LineScout (right).
defective components. Portable UV detectors, or bispectral imagers that superimpose a visible light image onto the UV image, could benet from the camera angles provided by online teleoperated robots. Figure 15 gives examples of such images. 4.1.4. Audible Noise Audible noise can focus the attention of maintenance personnel on a potentially defective component. Field work has shown that noise is a very natural and intuitive means of detection. Microphones were thus included close to the inspection camera in the LineScout Technology. It was also found that a two-way audio system on the robot could facilitate coordination with the linemen as the robot is being installed on the line. 4.1.5. Specialized Visual Inspection Certain types of line components require specialized visual inspection. Warning spheres installed on the OGW are one example, because they hide a length of conductor, making it impossible to inspect visually. Warning spheres are attached with clamps or patch rods, which create an area of mechanical stress that needs to be inspected. Because the mechanical integrity of the wire cannot be guaranteed, blindly sending linemen on a motorized trolley that runs along the OGW raises some questions. One logical option is to send a robot to visually inspect the conductor prior to sending linemen. To do this, a miniature camera, possibly equipped with a light, must be inserted into the sphere through one of the drain
holes, as shown in Figure 16. Inserting the cameras from a cable subjected to wind-induced vibrations requires such dexterity that the job more closely resembles a maintenance task than a mere inspection.
4.2. Maintenance
Even though inspection tasks have a great potential, the longer term future of power line robotics could reside in maintenance tasks, such as taking measurements, component replacement, and component cleaning. To be able to perform such tasks, the mobile platform must be highly effective, use feedback from a greater number of sensors, and have a certain number of autonomous subsystems, allowing the operator to focus on the maintenance task.
4.2.1. Conductor Repair Clamp and Patch Rod Installation Broken strands are common on OGWs, mainly due to lightning strikes. In most cases, the damage cannot be quantied reliably from the ground. The safest approach is to send a robot to gather visual information to assess the remaining mechanical strength. Having reached the damaged area, repairing the OGW or conductor would be the next logical step because the wind sometimes unravels the broken strand to a point where the distance with the conductor is insufcient and ashover occurs. A tool for temporary repair was designed for LineScout, allowing the teleoperated installation of a custom-made clamp to secure
493
unscrew different clamps because a rotating tool has been tted to the end effectors of its robotic arm (Figure 18). It was used recently to retrieve several vibration dampers that became loose and made their way down the slope of a span. This opens the way to replacement and installation of vibration dampers, spacer-dampers, aerial markers, etc.
Figure 16. Mounted on the LineScout Technology, a miniature CCD camera and light are inserted for warning sphere inspection (artistic rendering showing the sphere being cut open).
the broken strands around the wire (see Figure 17). This application is already in use, but tools to install patch rods for permanent repair would be the ultimate solution. 4.2.2. Component Replacement or Installation The potential for maintenance tasks has been demonstrated successfully in the installation of warning spheres by Ruaux (1995) and Campos et al. (2002). LineScout has the ability to remotely screw on and
4.2.3. Component Cleaning Contaminants of all kinds can be found on conductors installed in specic areas. Pollution residues and vegetation are the most common contaminants, although recurrent vandalism (kites, shoes, etc.) may also be a problem in some parts of the world. In 1999, as reported by T&D (1999), a cleaning device was designed by Hydro-Qu ebec IREQ and implemented (10 units) in South America. It proved its worth by cleaning 800 km of circuits (Fig. 19, left). Pulled from the ground with an insulated rope, this module, or a similar one, could eventually be mounted on a mobile robot capable of crossing obstacles. Contaminants (dust, vegetation, salt) on insulators can be a real problem for transmission grid owners. Because ashover could occur, the insulator string must be cleaned. As with any maintenance task, it would preferable for this job to be carried out on energized circuits. Today, live-line insulator cleaning techniques involve shooting high-pressure de-ionized water or blasting with some type of powder. Some authors, such as Cho, Byun, Park, and Kim
Figure 17. LineScout introducing maintenance tasks such as the temporary repair of broken strands by installing a copper clamp (left) that is clamped around the conductor (right). Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
494
4.2.5. Support Structure Painting Deterioration by corrosion of steel lattices can be prevented by refurbishing the galvanized layer of the steel support structure. Repainting the structure is an avenue, but live-line painting of the top of the support does present a number of challenges for line maintenance personnel.
5. DISCUSSION
Although much work has been achieved in recent years, considerable developments still need to be done before reliable, autonomous mobile robots will be routinely performing inspection or maintenance on transmission grids. Over the past 10 years, the authors developed several robotic systems aiming at live-line transmission maintenance that were used extensively on Hydro-Qu ebecs transmission network. From this broad eld of experience and based on key elements of the state-of-the-art review presented herein, the following conclusions are drawn for the future of transmission line robotics: The best approach to locomotion, considering power consumption and speed of displacement, is rolling on the conductor. An average speed for traveling should be around 1.0 m/s. Signicantly lower speed would limit the efciency of the inspection task; much higher speed is likely to become unsafe due to the possible presence of unsuspected obstacles such as broken strands.
Figure 18. LineScout retrieving a loose vibration damper.
(2006), have introduced specialized robotic tools for inspecting and cleaning insulator strings, as shown in Figure 19, right. Power line inspection robots capable of crossing obstacles could serve as a moving platform to deploy such tools. 4.2.4. Conductor Replacement The replacement of old conductors or OGWs can be performed on live lines using the cradle-block stringing method. Usually using simple traction machines that cannot cross obstacles, the method could benet greatly from a traction machine capable of crossing obstacles. Pulling a safety line or a safety net with a robot that runs on an old conductor, possibly obstructed by aerial markers or other obstacles, could secure an area prior to work by linemen.
Figure 19. Contaminants being brushed off a conductor in South America and an insulator-cleaning robotic device designed by KEPRI (Cho et al., 2006; c 2006 IEEE). Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
495
Obstacle-crossing time should not be over 4 min, again for the efciency of the inspection task. Sufcient payload capacity, in the range of 1520 kg, should be aimed at for sensors and other subsystems because the economic and strategic value of transmission robots resides in their capacity to achieve maintenance tasks. Based on the business case, access to single conductors, bundled conductors, and ground wires is a must. Also, the device has to cross most obstacles found on a typical line but not necessarily on dead-end towers. Line maintenance robots can be teleoperated because they are most commonly used for limited jobs on few specic spans. It should be intuitive and safe to operate such robots. Modularity is a key factor to accommodate various types of tools and sensors. The system must be reliable and safe (operator safety, public safety, and line component integrity and service continuity). It must be adapted to live-line installation and operation methods. For that reason, robot developers are encouraged to establish close collaboration with electric utilities. Robots have to be able to work on live conductors up to 1,200 kV and withstand the magnetic eld associated with 2,000-A current. The mobile platform design is the main challenge, but application modules are the key to successful inspection and maintenance tasks. Commercial sensors, typically used by linemen, should be used whenever possible as modules to mount on robotic platforms. Line patrol robots traveling on the OGW only allow visual inspection of the conductors below, preventing the use of sensors that need to contact the conductors and line components. Furthermore, this visual inspection is limited in its quality and offers a single point of view. Line patrol robots that would run on energized conductors would benet from being completely autonomous and having a battery recharging system that extends their autonomy to several days. A promising eld of research for power utilities is line fault detection and identication. Sensors for that goal still need to be designed
and validated. Ultimately, the information obtained will be processed and component diagnostics could be provided. Figure 20 summarizes the interrelations that should ideally exist around developers of transmission line robots. The overall driver of the process should be electric utility needs that constitute the actual business case of any project. These needs are emerging because utilities are being pressured by several factors, as indicated in Figure 20. This pressure, like the number of electric utilities involved, is likely to grow in the near future. Some of the current needs in the areas of inspection and maintenance were presented in the preceding sections. However, needs are constantly evolving, and a close relationship with line maintenance personnel should be established and maintained to rene the denition of needs. Also, as demonstrated by Section 3, many technical specications will be developed and claried by the electric utilities themselves. Finally, partly because all these potential applications represent a niche market, developers should maintain close relations among themselves. This is particularly true among platform design teams and among companies that specialize in the development of commercial sensors.
6. CONCLUSION
A comprehensive state-of-the-art review on mobile robots capable of crossing obstacles on transmission lines was presented. As the amount of recently reported work indicates, this type of technology is likely to emerge and be deployed over the medium term. Future work should mainly be oriented toward battery technologies, getting power from live lines, 100% reliable obstacle detection and identication, and sensor fusion to increase the autonomy level. Future transmission line robots must leverage progress achieved in other robotic elds such as planetary rovers or autonomous vehicles: advanced control, expert systems, advanced materials, image processing, localization and mapping, etc. Power lines do need to be inspected and maintained. Because this must be done on live components, the hazards it entails create a strategic environment where robots are likely to make inroads
496
Figure 20. Transmission line robot development context.
and complement the available toolbox of line maintenance personnel.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The development team would like to thank its Hydro-Qu ebec TransEnergie partners for their precious collaboration in transmission line robotics projects.
REFERENCES
Aoshima, S., Tsujimura, T., & Yabuta, T. (1992). A multiunit wire-mobile robot that avoids obstacles and transfers to branch wires. JSME International Journal, Series III, 35(1), 7481. BCTC. (2008). Transmission technology roadmap Pathways to BCs future grid research and development program ofceSystem Planning and Asset Management Division. Last revised September 2008. Becker, M., Landre, J., & Santos, S. (2006, May). Design of mechatronics systems to inspect power transmission lines and towers. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Power Electronics, Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion (SPEEDAM 2006), Taormina, Italy (pp. 774779).
BPA. (2006). Bonneville Power Administration Transmission technology road map, retrieved November 6, 2008, from Bonneville Power Administration web site: http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/business/ innovation/docs/2006/RM-06 Transmission.pdf. Cai, L., Liang, Z., Hou, Z. G., & Tan, M. (2008, April). Fuzzy control of the inspection robot for obstaclenegotiation. In Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Networking, Sensing and Control (ICNSC 2008), Sanya, China (pp. 117122). Campos, M., Pereira, G., Vale, S., Bracarense, A., Pinheiro, G., & Oliveira, M. (2002, May). A mobile manipulator for installation and removal of aircraft warning spheres on aerial power transmission lines. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2002), Washington, DC (pp. 35593564). Chan, J. (2003). Transport devices for overhead conductors: State of the art review and promising technology (EPRI Rep. 1001999). Palo Alto, CA: Electrical Power Research Institute (www.epri.com). Cho, B. H., Byun, S. H., Park, J. Y., & Kim, J. S. (2006, October). Development of automatic inspection robot for live-line insulators. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Transmission & Distribution Construction, Operation and Live-Line Maintenance (ESMO 2006), Albuquerque, NM. Dai, X. (2004). Special report on Chinas advanced robotics R&D programmeInspection and maintain robots of Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
497
high-voltage transmission and distribution. Special report of Chinas advanced robotic R&D Joint Coordinating Forum (JCF) 2004 Meeting of the International Advanced Robotics Programme (IARP), Retrieved November 4, 2008, from www.nsf.gov/ eng/roboticsorg/documents/China 000.pdf. Debenest, P., Guarnieri, M., Takita, K., Fukushima, E., Hirose, S., Tamara, K., Kimura, A., Kubokawa, H., Iwama, N., & Shiga, F. (2008, May). ExplinerRobot for inspection of transmission lines. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2008), Pasadena, CA (pp. 3978 3984). De Oliveira, V., & Lages, W. (2006a, September). Motion control of an underactuated brachiation robot using NMPC. In Proceedings of the 7th Portuguese Conference on Automatic Control (Controlo 2006), Lisbon, Portugal. De Oliveira, V., & Lages, W. (2006b, September). Predictive control of an underactuated brachiation robot using linearization. In Proceedings of the 7th Portuguese Conference on Automatic Control (Controlo 2006), Lisbon, Portugal. De Souza, A., Moscato, L., Dos Santos, M., De Britto Vidal Filho, W., Ferreira, G., & Ventrella, A. (2004). Inspection robot for high voltage transmission lines. In J. C. Adamowski, E. H. Tamai, E. Villani, & P. E. Miyagi (Eds.), ABCM Symposium Series in Mechatronics, Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering (vol. 1, pp. 17). Earp, G. (1996, November). EA technologys robotics program. In Proceedings of Robotics for Use in the Electricity Industry, EA Technology Project No. 4073, Capenhurst, England. Fu, S., Li, W., Zhang, Y., Linag, Z., Hou, Z., Tan, M., Ye, W., Lian, B., & Zuo, Q. (2006, October). Structureconstrained obstacles recognition for power transmission line inspection robot. In Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2006), Beijing, China (pp. 33633368). Fu, S., Liang, Z., Hou, Z., & Tan, M. (2008, August). Vision based navigation for power transmission line inspection robot. In Proceedings of the 7th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Informatics (ICCI 2008), Stanford, CA (pp. 411417). Fu, S., Zhang, Y., Cheng, L., Liang, Z., Hou, Z., & Tan, M. (2006, July). Motion based image deblur using recurrent neural network for power transmission line inspection robot. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN 2006), Vancouver, BC, Canada (pp. 38543859). Fu, S., Zhang, Y., Zhao, X., Liang, Z, Hou, Z., Zou, A., Tan, M., Ye, W., & Bo, L. (2006, August). Motion deblurring for a power transmission line inspection robot. In Proceedings of International Conference on Intelligent Computing (ICIC 2006), Kunming, China (pp. 866871). Fu, S., Zuo, Q., Hou, Z., Liang, Z., Tan, M., Jing, F., & Fu, X. (2008, June). Unsupervised learning of categories from sets of partially matching image features for power Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
line inspection robot. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN 2008), Hong Kong, China (pp. 25962603). Golightly, I., & Jones, D. (2005, July). Visual control of an unmanned aerial vehicle for power line inspection. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR2005), Seattle, WA (pp. 288295). Hanawa, M., & Kobayashi, K. (1994). Spacer passage type midair machine for complex conductor transmission line. Patent JP6327112: Japan Patent Ofce, Applicant: Hitachi Cable. Ishikawa, Y., Koshiyama, T., & Munakata, T. (1997). Stringing traveling unit and control method therefor. Patent JP10248130: Japan Patent Ofce, Applicant: Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. and Toshiba F A System Eng. Jian, J., Tingyu, Z., & Guoxian, Z. (2008). Research of centroid balance of the inspection robot for high-voltage transmission lines. Advanced Materials Research, 33(37), 14771482. Jiang, B., & Mamishev, A. (2004). Robotic monitoring of power systems. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 19(3), 912918. Jones, D. (2004). Power line inspection vehicle. PCT-Patent application WO 2004/102757 A1: World Intellectual Property Organization, Applicant: University of Wales. Jones, D. (2006). Power line inspection vehicleAn UAV concept. In IEE Forum on Autonomous Systems, The IEE Systems Engineering Professional Network (2005/11271), London, UK. Kusafuka, E., & Kitanishi, M. (1991). Running device on overhead electric wire. Patent JP 3230711: Japan Patent Ofce, Applicant: Asahi Kinzoku Seiko KK and Sumitomo Electric Industries. Liang, Z., Li, E., & Tan, M. (2005, August). Design and control for a tribrachiation mobile robot for the inspection of power transmission lines. In Proceedings of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers Annual Conference (SICE 2005), Okayama, Japan (pp. 505509). Liang, Z., Li, E., Tan, M., Liu, G., & Rees, D. (2005, November). Control of inspection robots for power transmission lines based on remote video over Internet. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Intelligence for Modeling, Control and Automation, and International Conference on Intelligent Agents, Web Technologies and Internet Commerce (CIMCA-IAWTIC 2005), Vienna, Austria (pp. 877882). Luo, J., Xie, S., & Gong, Z. (2005, July). Cable maintenance robot and its dynamic response moving on the horizontal cable. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR 2005), Seattle, WA (pp. 514517). Luo, J., Xie, S., Gong, Z., & Lue, T. (2007). Development of cable maintenance robot for cable-stayed bridges. Industrial Robot: An International Journal, 34(4), 303309. e, J., & St-Louis, M. (2000, October). Montambault, S., Cot Preliminary results on the development of a teleoperated compact trolley for live-line working. In 9th
498
International Conference on Transmission and Distribution Construction, Operation and Live-Line Maintenance (ESMO 2000), Montr eal, Canada (pp. 2127). Montambault, S., & Pouliot, N. (2003, April). The HQ LineROVer: Contributing to innovation in transmission line maintenance. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Transmission and Distribution Construction and Live Line Maintenance (ESMO 2003), Orlando, FL (pp. 3340). Montambault, S., & Pouliot, N. (2004, May). On the economic and strategic impact of robotics applied to transmission line maintenance. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Live Maintenance (ICOLIM 2004), Bucharest, Romania. Montambault, S., & Pouliot, N. (2006, October). LineScout technology: Development of an inspection robot capable of clearing obstacles while operating on a live line. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Transmission and Distribution Construction and Live Line Maintenance (ESMO 2006), Albuquerque, NM. Montambault, S., & Pouliot, N. (2007a). Inspection robot capable of clearing obstacles while operating on a live line. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from Electricity Today Web site: http://www.electricitytoday.com/et/issue0407/line-robot.html. Montambault, S., & Pouliot, N. (2007b, July). Design and validation of a mobile robot for power line inspection and maintenance. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics (FSR 2007), Chamonix, France. Montambault, S., & Pouliot, N. (2008, June). The LineScout technology: Considerations for multi-span robotic teleoperated live-line inspection. In Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Live Maintenance (ICOLIM 2008), Torun, Poland. Montambault, S., Pouliot, N., Lepage, M., Michaud, J., Latullipe, C., & Comte, C. (2005). Remote-controlled vehicle designed to be mounted on a support and capable of clearing obstacle. PCT-Patent application, WO 2005/101600 A1: World Intellectual Property Organization, Applicant: Hydro-Quebec. Nayyerloo, M., Yeganehparast, S., Barati, A., & Foumani, M. (2007). Mechanical implementation and simulation of monolab, a mobile robot for inspection of power transmission lines. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 4(3), 381386. Parker, L., & Draper, J. (1998). Robotics applications in maintenance and repair. In S. Nof (Ed.), Handbook of industrial robotics, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley. Paula, G. (1989). Robotics: Growing maintenance option for utilities Electrical World, 203(5), 6567. Paula, G. (1992). Robots: Expanding range of T&D application. Electrical World, 206(2), 5862. Peters, J., Ahn, T., & Borkowski, M. (2002). Obstacle classication by a line-crawling robot: A rough neurocomputing approach. In J. Alipigini, J. Peters, A. Skowron, & N. Zhong (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Rough Sets and Current Trends in Computing (RSCTC 2002), LNAI 2475 (pp. 594601). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Peters, J., Ramanna, S., & Szczuka, M. (2003). Towards a line-crawling robot obstacle classication system: A rough set approach. In G. Wang, Q. Liu, Y. Yao, and A. Skowron (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Rough Sets, Fuzzy Sets, Data Mining, and Granular Computing (RSFDGrC 2003), LNAI 2639 (pp. 303307). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Peungsungwal, S., Peungsiri, B., Chamnongthai, K., & Okuda, M. (2001, May). Autonomous robot for a power transmission line inspection. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS 2001), Sydney, Australia (pp. 121124). Pouliot, N., & Montambault, S. (2008, May). Geometric design of the LineScout, a teleoperated robot for power line inspection and maintenance. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2008), Pasadena, CA (pp. 39703977). Pouliot, N., & Montambault, S. (2009, May). LineScout technology: From inspection to robotic maintenance on live transmission power lines. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2009), Kobe, Japan. Pouliot, N., Montambault, S., & Lepage, M. (2004). Remote-controlled vehicle which travels on conductors and which can pass over obstacles by means of temporary support rotors. PCT-Patent application WO 2004/070902 A1: World Intellectual Property Organization, Applicant: Hydro-Quebec. Rocha, J., & Sequeira, J. (2004, March). The development of a robotic system for maintenance and inspection of power lines. In Proceedings of the 35th International Symposium on Robotics (ISR 2004), Paris, France. Rothman, B. (2006). Line inspection. PCT-Patent application WO 2006/085804 A1: World Intellectual Property Organization, Applicant: ABB Research Ltd. (except U.S.). Ruaux, P. (1995, October). Mechanization of the installation of aircraft warning spheres on overhead lines. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Transmission and Distribution Construction and Live Line Maintenance (ESMO 1995), Columbus, OH (pp. 125131). San Segundo, H., Fuster, V., Perez, L., & Mayorga, P. (2006, November). Automated inspection of electric transmission lines: The power supply system. In Proceeding of the IEEE 32nd Annual Conference on Industrial Electronics (IECON 2006), Paris, France (pp. 37883792). Sawada, J., Ishikawa, Y., Kobayashi, Y., & Matsumoto, Y. (1990). Apparatus for tracking an overhead line and automatically moving around obstacles on the line. Patent No. 5,103,739: U.S. Patent and Trademark Ofce, Applicant: The Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba. Sawada, J., Kusumoto, K., Munakata, T., Maikawa, Y., & Ishikawa, Y. (1991). A mobile robot for inspection of power transmission lines. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 6(1), 309315. Sun, C., Wang, H., Zhao, M., & Ling, L. (2007, December). Precision compensation of localization error in obstacle-navigation for inspection robot. In Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
499
Proceedings from IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO 2007), Sanya, China (pp. 213217). Sun, C., Wang, H., Zhao, M., & Liu, H. (2006, June). 3D simulation and optimization design of a mobile inspection robot for power transmission lines. In Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Intelligent Control and Automation, Dalian, China (pp. 89868991). T&D (1999). Etecen brushes its conductors clean. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from Transmission and Distribution World Magazine Web site: http:// tdworld.com/mag/power georgia power upgrades. Tang, L., Fang, L., & Wang, H. (2004a, August). Development of an inspection robot control system for 500 kV extra-high voltage power transmission lines. In Proceedings of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers Annual Conference (SICE 2004), Saporo, Japan (pp. 18191824). Tang, L., Fang, L., & Wang, H. (2004b, December). Obstacle-navigation control for a mobile robot suspended on overhead ground wires. In Proceedings of International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV 2004), Kunming, China (pp. 20802087). Tang, L., Fu, S., Fang, L. L., & Wang, H. (2004, August). Obstacle navigation strategy of a wire-suspended robot for power transmission lines. In Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO 2004), Shenyang, China (pp. 8287). Tavares, L., & Sequeira, J. S. (2004, September). RIOL Robotic inspection over power lines. In Proceedings of the 6th IFAC Symposium on Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (IAV 2007), Toulouse, France. Tsujimura, T., Yabuta, T., & Morimitsu, T. (1996, July). Design of a wire-suspended mobile robot capable of avoiding path obstacles. In Proceedings of the IEE Conference on Control Theory and Applications [vol. 143(4), pp. 349357]. Vadakkepat, P., & Janardhanan, J. (2008). Power lines autonomous robots for live power line inspection. Electrical India, 48(2), 117122. Wang, L., Fang., L., Wang, J. H., & Zhao, M. (2006, October). Development and control of an autonomously obstacle-navigation inspection robot for extra-high voltage power transmission lines. In Proceedings of International Joint Conference (SICE-ICASE 2006), Bexco, Busan, Korea (pp. 54005405). Wang, L., Wang, H., & Fang, L. (2007, December). Obstaclenavigation control of inspection robot for power transmission lines. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO 2007), Sanya, China (pp. 26522655). Wang, L., Wang, H., Fang, L., L., & Zhao, M. (2005, September). Research on obstacle-navigation control of a mobile robot for inspection of the power transmission lines based on expert system. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support in Technologies for Mobile Machines (CLAWAR 2005), London, UK (pp. 173180). Wu, G., Xia, X., & Lai, Y. (2007, October). A wheel-claw hybrid manipulator and its grasping stability for the Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob
mobile robot rolling/crawling along exible cable. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Workshop on Robotic and Sensors Environments (ROSE 2007), Ottawa, Canada. Wu, G., Xiao, X. H., & Li, S. (2006). Kinematics simulation of inspection robot for power transmission line based on PRO/E and ADAMS. WSEAS Transactions on Power Systems, 1(3), 674680. Xiao, X. H., Wu, G. P., Du, E., & Shi, T. L. (2005). Dynamic simulation and experimental study of inspection robot for high-voltage transmission-line. Journal of Central South University Technology, 12(6), 726731. Xiao, X. H., Wu, G. P., & Li, S. (2006). The rigid-exible coupling dynamic characteristic between mobile robot along overhang exible cable and its moving path. WSEAS Transactions on Computers, 5(3), 521527. Xiao, X. H., Wu, G. P., & Li, S. (2007, September). Dynamic coupling simulation of a power transmission line inspection robot with its exible moving path when overcoming obstacles. In Proceedings of the IEEE 3rd Annual Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (ICASE 2007), Scottsdale, AZ (pp. 326331). Xiao, X. H., Wu, G. P., Wang, J., Xie, J., & Li, S. (2006). The dynamic characteristic of the transmission line inspection robot under motion state. WSEAS Transactions on Computers, 5(2), 410416. Zhang, Y., Fu, S., Zhao, X., Liang, Z., Tan, M., & Zhang, Y. (2006, August). Visual navigation for a power transmission line inspection robot. In Proceedings of International Conference on Intelligent Computing (ICIC 2006), Kunming, China (pp. 887892). Zhang, T., Zhang, G., & Jian, J. (2007, December). Development of a dual-arm mobile robot for high voltage power lines. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO 2007), Sanya, China (pp. 19241929). Zhou, F., Wang, J., Li, Y., Wang, J., & Xia, H. (2005, August). Control of an inspection robot for 110 kV power transmission lines based on expert system design methods. In Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Control Applications (CCA 2005), Toronto, Canada (pp. 15631568). Zhu, X., Wang, H., Fang, L., Zhao, M., & Zhou, J. (2006a, June). A novel running and gripping mechanism design based on centroid adjustment. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA 2006), Luoyang, China (pp. 14711476). Zhu, X., Wang, H., Fang, L., Zhao, M., & Zhou, J. (2006b, October). Dual arms running control method of inspection robot based on ubiquitous sensor. In Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2006), Beijing, China (pp. 187192). Zhu, X., Zhou, J., Wang, H., Fang, L., & Zhao, M. (2006, December). Single arm running control method of inspection robot based on ubiquitous sensor. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO 2006), Kunming, China (pp. 187192).

FTP

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Deskripsi Asli:

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

FTP

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Transmission Line Maintenance Robots Capable of Crossing Obstacles: State-of-the-Art Review and Challenges Ahead

Journal of Field Robotics2009

1.2. Hydro-Quebecs Early Work on Robotics Applied to Transmission Lines

1.1. Transmission Line Maintenance: Business Case for Robotics

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

1.3. Objectives of the Paper

2. REVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECTS 2.1. Early Work

1991 IEEE); center, Tsujimura et al. (1996;

1996 IEEE); and right,

Journal of Field Robotics2009

2.2. Complete Systems

Figure 2. CAS prototype presented in Zhu et al. (2006, 2006b;

Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Journal of Field Robotics2009

2.3. Work on Specic Subsystems

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Journal of Field Robotics2009

Figure 7. Models used in simulations: left from Xiao et al. (2007;

2007 IEEE) and right from Nayyerloo et al. (2007).

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Figure 8. Two-arm vehicle (Cai et al., 2008;

Journal of Field Robotics2009

3. PROMISING FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

2.4. Other Technologies of Interest

3.1. Specications for Robots Dedicated to Live Transmission Lines

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Journal of Field Robotics2009

Figure 12. Jumper cables located at an angle tower.

3.2. Battery Technologies and Recharging Strategies

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

3.3. Telecommunication Systems

3.4. Obstacle Detection and Autonomous Crossing

3.5. Status of Research

Journal of Field Robotics2009

4. FUTURE APPLICATIONS IN TRANSMISSION LINE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE

4.1. Inspection and Sensors

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Figure 14. Typical line component images collected by robotic inspection.

Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob

Journal of Field Robotics2009

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Journal of Field Robotics2009

Figure 18. LineScout retrieving a loose vibration damper.

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Journal of Field Robotics DOI 10.1002/rob

Journal of Field Robotics2009

Figure 20. Transmission line robot development context.

and complement the available toolbox of line maintenance personnel.

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Journal of Field Robotics2009

Toussaint et al.: A Survey on Transmission Line Robots

Anda mungkin juga menyukai