Electricity is the foundation of modern social development. Timely and effective powerline inspection is very important to ensure grid security. There were numbers of challenges and difficulties during power line inspection in the past years: long transmission line, time-consuming procedures etc. Consequently, the inspection efficiency was low, the workers were placed in higher risks. In response to the above pain points, MMC（www.mmcuav.com） UAV develops the automatic power lines inspection system with UAV. So, what can UAV technology do in the power industry? Let's take a brief introduction.

 Autonomous inspection

The drone patrolman plans the route on the high-precision line three-dimensional map prepared in advance, and applies the centimeter-level real-time positioning technology. The drone automatically patrols the designated line, and automatically detects the device through the AI and sends back the diagnostic result data. The control room provides instant access to the operation of transmission lines, ground lines, fittings, insulators and towers. Drone power line inspections include normal inspections, fault inspections, and special inspections.

3D modeling

UAV transmission line space distance measurement technology can realize the integration of "small electric drone + micro laser range finder", by merging laser point cloud, DOM, DEM, high-definition image, multi-spectral, infrared photography, video image, etc. The data can form a visible light composite map and a laser three-dimensional model of the transmission line channel, and establish a text, visible light composite map, and a three-dimensional model "three-in-one" information base to realize real scene reconstruction and visually display the running state of the power transmission channel.

Foreign body removal

 In response to the problem of cleaning various flammable foreign materials on the high-voltage transmission line, the six-rotor UAV is used to carry the fire-breathing device, and the combustion method is used to remove foreign matter. The worker who uses the device does not need to be close to the transmission line, and can remotely remove foreign matter such as plastic film and kite line under the condition of remote control, and shorten the original obsolete time to several minutes, which not only improves the efficiency but also reduces the efficiency. Risk of safe operation.

Line erection

 In the construction process of transmission lines, the length of the corridors and the terrain are complicated. The dense forests in the valleys and rivers in the areas where the lines pass, which brings great inconvenience to the line erection, and the implementation of the project is very difficult. In order to effectively solve the contradiction between ecological environmental protection and overhead construction, it is easy to solve the problem by using the drone to display the guide rope to set up the line frame. The drone first flies over the line and applies a lightweight high-strength lead rope through each base tower, and then uses this lightweight lead rope to continuously pull the subsequent lead rope until a three-stage lead rope is pulled and the wire is erected. In this way, the high strength of the manpower display guide rope and the difficulty of landing the guide rope for the power parachute are solved, and the tree felling of the line channel is also reduced, thereby maximally protecting the natural ecology.

Line planning

 Using the fixed-wing UAV to carry out topographic survey of power grid engineering, provide detailed basic data such as image and elevation for power grid topographic map design as a guarantee, minimize the possibility of errors in the topographic map drawing process, and improve the topographic map planning and design. Quality and efficiency provide a scientific basis for the construction of power grid projects, and thus lay a solid foundation for the safe and stable operation of power systems. The vertical take-off and fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle technology can greatly reduce the workload in the field, the labor cost is small, the work efficiency can be effectively improved, the area that is difficult for people to reach can be measured, and the optimal transmission line design scheme can be provided. And can provide a variety of data results including DOM, DSM, DEM, DLG and true 3D models. Mountainous strip terrain survey, 9km long, 500m wide, results include DOM (0.1m resolution) and DSM (2m grid).、