Utility Mapping
Drone technology is gaining popularity in the electric business at a rapid rate. It can be challenging, hazardous, and expensive to maintain and inspect high voltage transmission and distribution lines. As a result, utilities are looking more and more to drones as a reliable tool to help with their Transmission & Distribution operations.
The cost of power line inspections for utilities is significantly less with deployment of drones. Additionally, they speed up response times, boost reliability, and enhance safety in transmission and distribution systems. When conducting routine inspections or assessing storm damage, accessing isolated areas of high voltage electrical lines involves challenging and risky challenges. These issues might almost entirely disappear with drones. Drone monitoring of substations, switchyards, and transmission lines offers utilities a welcome way to increase safety and reduce dangerous operations. Utility companies can rapidly and effectively identify vulnerabilities to the electrical grid thanks to drones. Inspection of transmission towers involve human risk & deployment of drones for such a task minimizes the risk. Drones with certain sensors can find and prevent corona discharge on power lines in hard-to-reach places. UV and thermal inspections can be carried out simultaneously with the use of combined imaging (IR, UV, and VIS sensors), which also reduces risk and labor requirements. The co-location of electric shocks and hot patches enables the maintenance technician to comprehend the root of a malfunction more thoroughly. The drones can use thermal imaging or cameras to detect and identify any intermittent power losses caused by a variety of factors so that they can be promptly rectified. A drone with a lidar or RGB camera and an RTK system can securely and affordably produce high-resolution photos for 3D mapping. Drone-based electrical network mapping enables the inspection of thousands of kilometers of electrical lines, hence enhancing network monitoring and maintenance strategies.
