A novel flying–walking power line inspection robot and stability analysis hanging on the line under wind loads

Abstract

To address the problems of existing power line inspection robots (PLIRs), such as complex structural design, difficult landing on and off lines, short cruise times, and easy hitting lines, we propose a novel flying–walking power line inspection robot (FPLIR) with the ability to fly and walk. The structural design of an FPLIR is carried out, which mainly includes a flying mechanism and a walking mechanism. Compared with climbing PLIRs and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the FPLIR can quickly land on and off lines, easily cross obstacles, and have longer cruise times and steady inspection perspectives. In addition, a directing-push pressing component is designed to improve the walking stability along the line. We also investigate the walking stability of the FPLIR on the line when encountering working conditions with crossing wind. The dynamics model of the FPLIR on the power line using the Lagrangian equation is derived to analyze walking stability caused by wind loads, considering pressing force and walking speed. An optimized regression design with three factors (wind angle, walking speed, and pressing force) and five levels was adopted to reveal the effect of these factors on the walking stability of the FPLIR. The experimental results show that wind angle and pressing force significantly influence the walking stability of the FPLIR (P<0.05). The maximum swing displacement of the center of mass (COM) is 4.7 cm (when wind angle, walking speed, and pressing force are 90∘, 7.2 m min−1, and 0, respectively). The maximum swing displacement of the COM is 2.5 cm when the pressing force increasing to 39.4 N is reduced by 46.2 % (when wind angle and walking speed are 90∘ and 5.1 m min−1, respectively), which effectively reduces the influence of wind loads and improves the stability of the FPLIR. The proposed FPLIR significantly improves inspection stability, providing a theoretical basis for slipping control, collecting images of intelligence inspection robots in the future.