Sensorial testbed for high-voltage tower inspection with UAVs

This work presents a methodology for characterizing ultrasonic and LASER sensors aimed at detecting obstacles within the context of electrical inspections by multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). A set of four ultrasonic and LASER sensor models is evaluated against eight target components, typically found in high-voltage towers. The results show that ultrasonic sensor arrays displaced 25 ∘ apart reduce the chances of problems related to crosstalk and angular uncertainty. Within the LASER sensor suite, solar exposure directly affects the detection behavior among lower power sensors. Based on the results obtained, a set of sensors capable of detecting multiple obstacles belonging to a high-voltage tower was identified. In this reasoning, it becomes possible to model sensor architectures for multirotor UAVs to detect multiple obstacles and advance in the state of the art in obstacle avoidance systems by UAVs in inspections of high-voltage towers.

Keywords

Electrical inspections Obstacle avoidance Sensor characterizing Unmanned aerial vehicles

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10198/27776

Citation

Berger, Guido S.; Júnior, Alexandre Oliveira; Braun, João; Lima, José; Pinto, Milena F.; Valente, António; Pereira, Ana I.; Cantieri, Álvaro R.; Wehrmeister, Marco A. (2023). Sensorial testbed for high-voltage tower inspection with UAVs. In 5th Iberian Robotics Conference (ROBOT). Zaragoza, SPAIN. 590, p.353-364