Powerline Inspection – Everything You Need to Know

Powerline inspections have a reputation of being rather time consuming and expensive, not to mention tedious. Be that as it may, it is an absolutely necessary operation because it is impossible to safely operate an electricity transmission network without inspecting the lines for damage or potential risks.

How it Started

Back in the day, we didn’t have advanced technology like the UAV camera for inspections. As such, everything had to be done manually. Teams had to physically inspect the assets, doing everything that comes with it: climbing poles, inspecting vegetation, and covering tens of miles a day. 

As tedious as it sounds, it was practical for small grids, about 1000-2000 kilometers. However, for larger grids, it was nigh on impossible to efficiently cover the distance over a short time frame. You had to send a small battalion of inspectors in there and that was and is expensive.

Back then, technologies like aerial photogrammetry were mere concepts and inspection had to be done some way. They had to be really smart when it came to choosing how to go about it. 

To be feasible, inspection was only conducted in certain high-priority areas. They had to consider the areas that had aggressive vegetation growth, which areas could safely go without inspection for a while, and which were the most important operation points of the whole network.

The Use of Helicopters

Fast forward a couple of years later and helicopters were thrown in the mix. Ground teams would integrate visual inspections with helicopters. They could cover more ground this way and perhaps pinpoint areas that would need closer hands-on inspection. High end cameras were introduced to capture images for further study.

It was definitely a couple steps forward but the bottom line was, it was still all a manual process. Gathering all necessary information enough to make important decisions was still too expensive.

The inspection process was limited by helicopters’ payload with the size and weight of the equipment and all. Let me paint you a picture of just how expensive and impractical it is:

Capturing all the data points needed requires a couple of flyovers over the powerlines, changing the payload every time. To get round that, inspectors need to decide which data to collect and which not to.

The Powerline Inspection Scene Today

Today, powerline inspection is all about automation. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles has become popular. These drones are often attached with multiple sensors, including a high-quality inspection camera capable of capturing images of high resolution. 

With high-resolution photos and drone footage, the use of artificial intelligence becomes possible. Machine learning algorithms can be used to classify objects on power lines. As a result, instead of inspectors having to comb collected data manually, they can use AI-powered computer software. 

Presently, powerline inspection is not only safe but also fast and convenient. Inspectors no longer have to hang from the side of helicopters. Right now, with a drone pilot and a few personnel to work the inspection software, companies can reliably inspect huge stretches of power lines. 

Ground teams come into play when the inspection software has identified areas that need further investigation or that have defects. 

UAV cameras have been a huge step forward. These drones have completely revolutionized aerial photogrammetry as we know it, which leads me to a side note.

What is Aerial Photogrammetry? 

Surveying requires precision at its best which means 2D, 3D, topography… everything. Simple aerial photography can get decent overhead images but lacks the precision surveying needs. All aerial photography gets you is a general sense of the area.

Photogrammetry will give you multiple images of a feature – enough to create digital 2D and 3D models. Depending on the scope of the inspection, you may need a couple hundred or a couple thousand images.

Applications

Aerial photogrammetry has a wide range of applications outside of powerline inspections.

In engineering, it can be used to create 3D structures of buildings and other structures. In construction, it is used to reveal information about the land construction is taking place on.

In land surveying, it is simply used to give surveyors in depth understanding of the topography of a piece of land in question.

In real estate, it is used to make accurate 3D renders of homes for sale. Realtors use this particularly when coming up with virtual home tours for potential buyers.

The Future of Powerline Inspection

The future of powerline inspections and just how the scene will look like a couple of years down the line depends on the technological advancements we make. 

Ideally, everything from the inspection camera to drones will be more advanced – or should be for that matter. As it is, some regulations limit drone operations limiting their line of sight and full capabilities while at it. This may change in the future to allow drones to cover more ground.

Drones will also eventually be completely autonomous. The idea is they spend their time between charging pads and autonomously inspecting grids with no human input whatsoever. This would go a long way in increasing coverage of the grid and reducing intervals between inspections.