Innovative airborne inventory and inspection technology for electric power line condition assessments and defect reporting

A cost-effective and innovative airborne inventory and inspection patrol system for distributed assets such as transmission lines, pipelines, and roadways has been developed and evaluated. Results show that aerial high-resolution digital visual and spectral images tagged by Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) coordinates can be successfully used to cost-effectively identify the majority of conditions/defects on electric power lines. Experiments show that the condition and defect detection rate of the airborne inventory and inspection system is significantly higher than rates derived from traditional patrols and comparable to values achieved from driving patrols. Geographic information systems (GIS) based mapping tools can be used to quickly and efficiently interpret digital images collected from aerial platforms. Digital images provide an archival record of the condition of the distributed assets to estimate the long-term performance of the assets and to define cost-effective maintenance and replacement schedules.