Design and realization of a mobile robot for power transmission lines inspection

The purpose of this study is to design a power transmission lines inspection robot that works between two towers in harsh environment. A novel mechanism composed of wheels and grippers makes the robot move upwards on the line that has 30 degrees ascending vertical angle and cross the specific obstacle like vibration dampers fixed on the line. Geometric design of the mechanism is discussed in detail and the critical problem of slide occurred between the line and the wheel is solved in this study using under actuated system. To advocate using green energy, the solar energy is applied for the first time in power line inspection robot that makes the robot be able to work on the line all the year round. The control system which has 3G technique to control the robot remotely is described briefly in this study. The effectiveness of the proposed concept is proved by experiments performed in a simulated line environment.