Robotized inspection of power lines with infrared vision

Abstract

This paper presents a method to automatically detect faults in transmission lines by using thermographie images. It involves the acquisition of infrared images over a network and its processing. Since the method is intented to be used embedded in a robot, low demands on processing power are required, in order to enable inspection on large extensions of transmission lines. The automatic inspection of power lines, allows for inspections over a longer period of time and with a decreased risk for the professionals involved. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to detect cables with problems.