A novel design of inspection robot for high-voltage power lines

Purpose – In this article, a detailed design of a novel power line inspection robot is studied. This robot can be used to move on ground wires for special purposes such as inspection and fault detection of electric power lines. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Designed active and passive mechanisms in the proposed robot enable it to move over various obstacles on ground wires, such as clamps, warning balls and mast tips. Indeed, this robot is the first designed robot with the capability of moving over all ground wire obstacles. The active mechanisms contain seven rubber-coated rollers (i.e. four vertical rollers and three horizontal rollers) as well as three mechanisms in order to make horizontal rollers move vertically. The passive mechanisms also include a set of spring-dampers installed in each joint of robot arms. Findings – The simulation results in the ADAMS software revealed a desirable stability of performance when moving on the ground wires with a maximum slope of 30-degree. Also, the robot showed a suitable performance when passing over the warning balls (with a maximum diameter of 700 mm), rectangular mast tips (170×170 mm) and mast tips with a 30-degree twist in the horizontal plane. Practical implications – The feasibility of these maneuvers is proved with a prototype implementation and successful test results. This robot is approximately 60 kg weight and can move in ground wires with maximum speed of 20 m/min. Originality/value – The proposed robot is able to move on ground cable and pass over different kinds of obstacles like warning balls and mast tips (straight and angular) with maximum speed of 20 m/min.