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Innovative technology allows free flying UAVs to open up your panoramic view

Industry Status quo and Challenges

China's State Grid has a wide coverage and is characterized by multiple voltage levels, a large number of devices and a complex operating environment. With the continuous upgrading of power infrastructure and the large-scale integration of new energy sources, the scale of the power grid is constantly expanding, and the inspection tasks are becoming increasingly arduous. Traditional power grid inspection mainly relies on manual tower climbing for inspection, ground telescope observation and helicopter inspection, which has problems such as low efficiency, high cost and great risk. Especially in complex terrain areas such as high mountains, dense forests and rivers, manual inspection faces huge challenges. Under such circumstances, the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology provides an innovative solution for the safety management of the State Grid. Through intelligent and automated inspection methods, the efficiency and accuracy of power grid equipment monitoring have been significantly enhanced, becoming an important technical means to ensure the security of national power supply.

The core advantages of drone technology

Multi-dimensional precise detection
AI intelligent recognition and early warning
Intelligent autonomous inspection

Multi-dimensional precise detection

Drones can simultaneously be equipped with various professional devices such as visible light cameras, infrared thermal imagers, and lidars to conduct comprehensive inspections of the status of power grid equipment from different dimensions, ensuring that no potential hazards are overlooked and the inspection results are more accurate.

AI intelligent recognition and early warning

Based on deep learning algorithms, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system can automatically identify potential safety hazards such as broken wire strands, damaged insulators, rusted poles and towers, and fallen trees, and conduct intelligent analysis and real-time alerts for abnormal situations, significantly enhancing the power grid's risk early warning capabilities.

Intelligent autonomous inspection

Modern power grid inspection drones have fully automatic operation capabilities and support functions such as intelligent route planning, one-click task issuance, and autonomous takeoff and landing. During the inspection process, key information such as high-definition video, infrared images, and partial discharge detection data can be transmitted back in real time, achieving truly unmanned on-duty inspection.

Innovative Applications of Drones

Optimization of power grid operation and maintenance management
Regularly inspect the conditions of equipment such as wires, insulators and fittings Monitor the growth of trees and terrain changes within the corridor of the line to prevent the risk of natural disasters Establish a digital archive for the entire life cycle of power grid equipment to achieve refined management
Support for power grid planning and construction
The monitored images are transmitted in real time to the command center via 4G, 5G/ private networks. The command room can grasp the overall situation on the spot from a unique aerial perspective in real time, providing an important basis for scientific decision-making. High-precision geographic mapping is carried out by using aerial survey cameras and lidar Build a three-dimensional digital model of the power grid to provide data support for the planning of new lines Monitor the construction progress and quality to ensure that the project construction meets the standards
Intelligent monitoring of security risks
24-hour all-weather monitoring of the safety status of power transmission lines to promptly detect external force damage or theft Real-time identification of suspicious individuals and construction machinery around the line provides early warnings for safety precautions Precisely locate the hot spots of the equipment through infrared thermal imaging technology and respond and handle them quickly

Applicable models

Application Cases

application case 1

State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power: In 2022, it fully promoted unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) autonomous inspection, covering all 500-kilovolt and above transmission lines in the province. The inspection efficiency was increased by five times, and the defect identification accuracy rate reached over 90%. By equipping infrared thermal imagers, multiple concealed joint overheating defects were successfully detected and dealt with.
application case 2

Yunnan Branch of China Southern Power Grid: By applying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Hengduan Mountains region and combining them with Lidar technology, it has completed the three-dimensional modeling of line channels under complex terrain, solving the monitoring problem in areas that are difficult for manual inspection to reach, and saving over 10 million yuan in inspection costs annually.
application case 3

State Grid Shandong Electric Power: In 2023, it will complete the construction of the country's first provincial intelligent inspection platform featuring "drones +AI", achieving full coverage of 220-kilovolt and above lines throughout the province. The system can automatically identify 21 types of typical defects, with a false alarm rate of less than 3%.
application case 4

Tokyo Electric Power Company of Japan has developed a dedicated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) group system to enable multi-UAV collaborative operations during the inspection of high-voltage lines around the Fukushima nuclear power plant. A single mission can complete a comprehensive inspection of 20 kilometers of lines.