Inspection Robot Based Mobile Sensing and Power Line Tracking for Smart Grid

Sensors (Basel). 2016 Feb 19;16(2):250. doi: 10.3390/s16020250.

Abstract

Smart sensing and power line tracking is very important in a smart grid system. Illegal electricity usage can be detected by remote current measurement on overhead power lines using an inspection robot. There is a need for accurate detection methods of illegal electricity usage. Stable and correct power line tracking is a very prominent issue. In order to correctly track and make accurate measurements, the swing path of a power line should be previously fitted and predicted by a mathematical function using an inspection robot. After this, the remote inspection robot can follow the power line and measure the current. This paper presents a new power line tracking method using parabolic and circle fitting algorithms for illegal electricity detection. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed tracking method by simulation and experimental results.

Keywords: illegal electricity usage; inspection robot; line tracking algorithm; remote detection; smart grid; smart sensing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't