An Intelligent UAV System for Power Line and Utility Condition Assessment

This research project will develop an intelligent UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) system, which is capable of autonomous navigation, for the inspection of power lines and utility. The automated inspection is based on the technologies of computer vision and artificial intelligence. The UAV flies autonomously over the infrastructure capturing the images with high-definition RGB camera and thermal camera. The acquired image data are processed with algorithms powered by artificial intelligence for the condition assessment of the infrastructure. The derived information provides a solid evidence to support the decision making in asset management and maintenance. The surveillance and monitoring with the intelligent UAV system will assure a reliable power transmission and distribution.

Faculty Supervisor:

Zheng Liu

Student:

Shuai Zhang

Partner:

TerraSense Analytics Ltd

Discipline:

Engineering - other

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

Program: