LineSpyX: A Power Line Inspection Robot Based on Digital Radiography

Most of the current power line inspection robots use cameras and LiDARs to inspect the power line surfaces and the surrounding environment. But it is still difficult to detect the internal defects of the power lines. In this letter, the design and implementation of LineSpyX, a novel power line inspection robot based on digital radiography (DR), is introduced to solve the problem of non-destructive testing (NDT) of the overhead Aluminum Conductor Composite Core (ACCC) wires. The proposed robot has a stable wrapped mechanical structure with a moving system, a live work system, and a NDT system. The wheeled moving system enables the robot to move on the wires and cross obstacles such as vibration dampers. The NDT system consists of a portable X-ray generator and a DR detection panel. When the robot performs the inspection task, the X-ray goes up through the ACCC wire to the panel, where the X-ray images of the internal carbon fiber cores are recorded. A deep learning based defect diagnosis method combined with manual diagnosis is proposed to detect potential defects. The main functionalities of the developed robot are verified by lab experiments and field tests.