A remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to a remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot. The inspection robot includes a fuselage, a driving mechanism and a steering mechanism installed on the fuselage. The remote photography pan-tilt control system includes a remote control device, a pan-tilt device installed on the fuselage, and a shooting device installed on the pan-tilt device. The pan-tilt device is provided with a zoom adjustment device for adjusting the focal length of the lens of the shooting device, and a control board respectively connected to the shooting device, the pan-tilt device and the zoom adjustment device. The control board is wirelessly connected to the remote control device through a wireless communication unit. The shooting device includes a target search camera for searching the target inspection area, a visible light camera for shooting visible light images, and an infrared thermal imager for shooting infrared images.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of power equipment, and more particularly, to a remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot. Background Art

[0002] During the actual application of inspection robots in power substations, there are problems with the detection accuracy of infrared temperature. For example, in the infrared inspection of power equipment, there is a certain distance between the infrared temperature measuring instrument on the robot payload and the surface of the device to be measured. Affected by the atmospheric attenuation of infrared radiation, there is a deviation between the measured temperature and the actual temperature. In addition, the inspection robot and the normal line of the surface of the equipment thermal defect often do not lie in the same horizontal plane, and there is a large angle between the observation direction of the infrared thermal imager and the normal line of the equipment surface, resulting in a deviation between the measured temperature and the actual temperature. In addition, for the existing infrared thermal imagers with FPGA+DSP processing systems and FPGA+"soft core" processing systems, the former, relying on the strong computing and data processing capabilities of the DSP, combined with the FPGA pipeline and parallel processing mechanisms, can achieve the main functions of infrared imaging. The disadvantage of this processing system is low integration and high power consumption. The latter uses a "soft core" to replace the DSP and can achieve the basic functions of infrared imaging, with the advantages of small volume and low power consumption. However, due to the limitations of the performance of the "soft core" processor, the infrared thermal imager still has deficiencies in high-performance requirements such as network transmission of video data and image compression. In summary, the existing infrared thermal imagers cannot be compatible with the advantages of high imaging quality, fast processing speed, and low system power consumption. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is: to provide a remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot. The inspection robot includes a fuselage, a driving mechanism and a steering mechanism installed on the fuselage. The remote photography pan-tilt control system includes a remote control device, a pan-tilt device installed on the fuselage, and a shooting device installed on the pan-tilt device. The pan-tilt device is provided with a zoom adjustment device for adjusting the focal length of the lens of the shooting device, and a control board respectively connected to the shooting device, the pan-tilt device and the zoom adjustment device. The control board is wirelessly connected to the remote control device through a wireless communication unit. The shooting device includes a target search camera for searching the target inspection area, a visible light camera for shooting visible light images, and an infrared thermal imager for shooting infrared images. The shooting device also includes a first inclination sensor for measuring the vertical elevation angle of the pan-tilt device and the observation angle of the shooting device, and a second inclination sensor for measuring the climbing angle of the inspection robot vehicle body. The first inclination sensor is arranged in close contact with the infrared thermal imager up and down, and the second inclination sensor is installed on one side of the fuselage facing the forward direction of the robot. The pan-tilt device includes an azimuth adjustment frame for installing the shooting device, a pitch rotation motor for controlling the pitch rotation of the azimuth adjustment frame, a horizontal rotation motor for controlling the horizontal rotation of the azimuth adjustment frame, and a servo controller respectively connected to the pitch rotation motor, the horizontal rotation motor and the control board. The zoom adjustment device includes a transmission component engaged with the lens housing of the visible light camera and / or the infrared thermal imager, a focusing motor for driving the transmission component to rotate, and a single-chip microcomputer respectively connected to the focusing motor and the control board.

[0005] In the remote photography pan-tilt control system for the substation inspection robot of the present invention, the single-chip microcomputer is an STC-12C5A60S2 single-chip microcomputer, and the focusing motor is driven by a stepping motor driver chip of model TMC262.

[0006] In the remote photography pan-tilt control system for the substation inspection robot of the present invention, the remote control device includes a touch display, a rocker controller, and a wireless communicator respectively connecting the rocker controller and the control board.

[0007] In the remote photography pan-tilt control system for the substation inspection robot of the present invention, the optical axes of the target search camera, the visible light camera and the infrared thermal imager are parallel to each other and the shooting directions are the same.

[0008] In the remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to the present invention, the target search camera is wirelessly connected to the cloud module. The cloud module pre-stores the overall / local features of the target inspection area. The target search camera takes pictures of the large wide-angle field of view in front of the camera and uploads the captured images to the cloud module. The cloud module detects the images uploaded by the target search camera, collects the overall / local features of the images, matches the collected overall / local features of the images with the overall / local features of the target inspection area stored in the cloud module, identifies the location of the target inspection area, and sends the location information to the control board. The control board controls the rotation of the pan-tilt device to align the shooting device with the target inspection area for shooting, and at the same time controls the zoom adjustment device to adjust the focal length of the lens of the shooting device.

[0009] In the remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to the present invention, the infrared thermal imager includes a conditioning board, a processing board connected to the conditioning board, a compression board connected to the processing board, and an interface board respectively connected to the compression board and the control board. Among them, the conditioning board includes a signal conditioning module, and the compression board includes a Hi3516 chip module; the processing board includes an FPGA chip module for performing preprocessing operations on the digital video signal transmitted from the signal conditioning module to the processing board; the processing board further includes an image output module for outputting the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module according to a preset digital video signal format, and the preset digital video signal is one of an LVDS digital video signal, an HDMI format high-definition video signal, and a PAL format analog video signal; the Hi3516 chip module is used for compressing the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module.

[0010] In the remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to the present invention, the Hi3516 chip module includes: an image denoising sub-module for denoising the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module; an image enhancement processing sub-module for performing image enhancement and / or edge enhancement processing on the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module.

[0011] The remote photography pan-tilt control system for the substation inspection robot provided by the present invention combines an inclination sensor and an ultrasonic ranging sensor, improving the accuracy of measuring the distance between the infrared thermal imager and the point to be measured. The first inclination sensor is fixedly attached to the upper and lower sides of the infrared thermal imager, and the distance between the two is very small, so that the inclination of the line connecting the thermal imager and the point to be measured relative to the horizontal plane and the observation angle can be approximately measured, effectively improving the compensation accuracy. The infrared thermal imager includes a conditioning board, a processing board, a compression board, and an interface board. Among them, the conditioning board includes a signal conditioning module, and the compression board includes a Hi3516 chip module; due to the powerful functions and high integration of the Hi3516 chip, using the Hi3516 chip as the core processor of the infrared thermal imager movement can not only improve the image processing speed, optimize the infrared imaging quality, but also reduce the power consumption of the infrared imaging system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. In the drawings:

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the inspection robot in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pan-tilt device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the driving mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0017] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0018] Such as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown in the figure, an embodiment of the present invention provides a remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot. The inspection robot includes a fuselage 11, a driving mechanism 14 and a steering mechanism installed on the fuselage 11. The remote photography pan-tilt control system includes a remote control device 31, a pan-tilt device 32 installed on the fuselage, and a photographing device 33 installed on the pan-tilt device 32. A zoom adjustment device 34 for adjusting the focal length of the lens of the photographing device is provided on the pan-tilt device 32, and a control board 35 is respectively connected to the photographing device 33, the pan-tilt device 32, and the zoom adjustment device 34. The control board 35 is wirelessly connected to the remote control device 31 through a wireless communication unit. The photographing device 33 includes a target search camera 4 for searching the target inspection area, a visible light camera 3 for taking visible light images, and an infrared thermal imager 2 for taking infrared images. The remote control device 31 includes a touch display, a rocker controller, and a wireless communicator respectively connected to the rocker controller and the control board. The management personnel can send control commands to the control board 35 through the rocker controller in the remote control device 31, and control the actions of the photographing device 33, the pan-tilt device 32, and the zoom adjustment device 34 through the control board 35, so as to realize the all-round remote adjustment of the photographing device 33, the remote adjustment of the photographing parameters, and the remote playback of videos and photos.

[0019] Specifically, as Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown in the figure, the pan-tilt device 32 includes an azimuth adjustment frame 36 for mounting the imaging device 33, a pitch rotation motor 8 for controlling the pitch rotation of the azimuth adjustment frame 36, a horizontal rotation motor 7 for controlling the horizontal rotation of the azimuth adjustment frame, and a servo controller respectively connected to the pitch rotation motor 8, the horizontal rotation motor 7 and the control board 35. The zoom adjustment device 34 includes a transmission assembly engaged with the lens housing of the visible light camera and / or the infrared thermal imager, a focusing motor for driving the transmission assembly to rotate, and a single-chip microcomputer respectively connected to the focusing motor and the control board. Preferably, the single-chip microcomputer is an STC-12C5A60S2 single-chip microcomputer, and the focusing motor is driven by a stepper motor driver chip of model TMC262. The optical axes of the target search camera 4, the visible light camera 3 and the infrared thermal imager 2 are parallel to each other and the shooting directions are the same. The target search camera 4 is wirelessly connected to the cloud module, and the cloud module pre-stores the overall / local features of the target inspection area. The target search camera 4 is a wide-angle camera installed at the front end of the imaging device 33, and is used for observing the shooting scene of the shooting camera in a large range and searching for shooting targets. On the one hand, it can observe the objects in front of the shooting lens in a large range to search for shooting targets. On the other hand, it can adjust the viewing distance by zooming and autofocusing, and can view the features of the photographed target more clearly. When the inspection robot reaches the designated shooting area, it can control the target search camera 4 to take pictures of the wide-angle field of view in front of the camera and upload the captured images to the cloud module by setting an automatic execution instruction or through the remote control device 31. The cloud module detects the images uploaded by the target search camera 4 and collects the overall / local features of the images, and matches the overall / local features of the collected images with the overall / local features of the target inspection area stored in the cloud module, identifies the location of the target inspection area, and sends the location information to the control board 35. The control board 35 then controls the pan-tilt device 32 to rotate, so that the imaging device 33 is aligned with the target inspection area for shooting, that is, rotates the target search camera 4, the visible light camera 3 and the infrared thermal imager 2 to align the camera shooting center with the target inspection area, and at the same time controls the zoom adjustment device 34 to act to adjust the focal length of the lens of the imaging device 33 to align with the target inspection area, and transmits the images captured by the visible light camera 3 and the infrared thermal imager 2 back to the remote control device 31 for display, completing a remote control shooting.

[0020] Further, the photographing device 33 further includes a first inclination sensor 1 for measuring the vertical elevation angle of the pan-tilt device 32 and the observation angle of the photographing device, and a second inclination sensor 10 for measuring the climbing angle of the inspection robot body. The first inclination sensor 1 is arranged in a stacked manner with the infrared thermal imager 2 up and down, and the second inclination sensor 10 is installed on one side of the fuselage 11 facing the forward direction of the robot. The photographing device 33 further includes an ultrasonic ranging sensor 9 for detecting the linear distance between the photographing device 33 and the plane where the point to be measured is located. The ultrasonic ranging sensor 9 is placed directly in front of the pan-tilt device 32. The models of the first inclination sensor 1 and the second inclination sensor 10 are RS232Analog, with a measurement range of single-axis 0° to 360°, double-axis +80°, a minimum resolution of 0.01°, an accuracy of 0.1°, and a non-filtered response time of 10 ms. The inclination angle from the infrared thermal imager to the point to be measured, the observation angle, and the climbing slope of the robot can be obtained. In this embodiment, considering the influence of the observation angle on the temperature measurement result, during the automatic compensation process of the temperature measurement result of the inspection robot, in addition to the robot automatically obtaining the observed distance, it is also necessary to consider that the robot can automatically obtain the angle between the normal line of the infrared thermal imager 2 and the focal plane normal line of the target body. On this basis, the temperature measurement result is compensated by comprehensively considering the observation distance and angle, and the operating state of the device is evaluated using it. The measurement data of the first inclination sensor 1 and the second inclination sensor 10 are transmitted to the remote control device 31 through the control board 35. The remote control device 31 compensates the distance measurement value of the ultrasonic ranging sensor 9 based on the vertical elevation angle and the climbing angle of the robot body, and compensates the temperature measurement value of the infrared thermal imager 2 according to the compensated actual distance value and the observation angle of the infrared thermal imager 2 to obtain the true surface temperature of the target body. The infrared thermal imager 2 includes a conditioning board, a processing board connected to the conditioning board, a compression board connected to the processing board, and an interface board respectively connected to the compression board and the control board. Among them, the conditioning board includes a signal conditioning module, and the compression board includes a Hi3516 chip module; the processing board includes an FPGA chip module for performing preprocessing operations on the digital video signal transmitted from the signal conditioning module to the processing board; the processing board also includes an image output module for outputting the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module in accordance with a preset digital video signal format. The preset digital video signal is one of an LVDS digital video signal, an HDMI-standard high-definition video signal, and a PAL-standard analog video signal; the Hi3516 chip module is used for compressing the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module. The Hi3516 chip module includes: an image denoising sub-module for denoising the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module; an image enhancement processing sub-module for performing image enhancement and / or edge enhancement processing on the digital video signal preprocessed by the FPGA chip module.The infrared thermal imager 2 in this embodiment includes a conditioning board, a processing board, a compression board, and an interface board. Among them, the conditioning board includes a signal conditioning module, and the compression board includes a Hi3516 chip module. Since the Hi3516 chip has powerful functions and high integration, using the Hi3516 chip as the core processor of the infrared thermal imager module can not only improve the image processing speed, optimize the infrared imaging quality, but also reduce the power consumption of the infrared imaging system.

[0021] In this embodiment, a security device is also provided on the body 11 of the inspection robot. The security device includes a collision switch bracket 13, in which a collision switch is provided. The collision switch is connected to a touch edge mounting plate, and a safety touch edge is mounted on the touch edge mounting plate. The collision switch is connected to the control board. When the safety touch edge touches other objects, it will feedback the acting force to the collision switch, and the collision switch sends a touch signal to the control board. After receiving the signal, the control board controls the drive mechanism to stop moving forward and controls the steering mechanism to turn, thus providing a better anti-collision protection function. In addition, the security device also includes a smoke sensor for detecting smoke, a waterproof relay, a speaker for playing a warning sound, and a cooling fan for dissipating heat from electrical components. The steering mechanism in this embodiment includes a steering wheel and a steering mechanism box. The chassis frame is connected to a steering bridge. The left and right ends of the steering bridge are connected to tire mounting brackets. The steering mechanism box is arranged between the tire mounting brackets. Two upper and lower special-shaped suspension arms are fixedly connected to the middle of the steering wheel. The tire mounting brackets are provided with special-shaped suspension arm mounting seats for fixedly connecting the special-shaped suspension arms. Two steering push rods extend from the left and right sides of the steering mechanism box respectively. The steering push rod is connected to a push rod connecting member. The push rod connecting member is connected to a steering rod. The steering rod is connected to the rear of the steering wheel. The special-shaped suspension arm is provided with a shock absorber spring through hole. A shock absorber spring is provided on each side of the steering mechanism. The shock absorber spring passes through the shock absorber spring through holes of the two upper and lower special-shaped suspension arms. One end of the shock absorber spring is connected to the chassis frame, and the other end is connected to the steering bridge. As Figure 4 shown, the drive mechanism 14 includes a drive wheel 48, a differential 49, a drive motor 50 connected to the differential 49, left and right half shafts, and a shaft housing 51 arranged outside the differential 49 and the left and right half shafts. Connecting bridge assemblies 52 are respectively arranged at the left and right ends of the shaft housing 51. The connecting bridge assembly 52 includes a front connecting bridge 5201 and a rear connecting bridge 5202. The front connecting bridge 5201 and the rear connecting bridge 5202 are fixedly connected by screws and lock the shaft housing 51. The front connecting bridge 5201 is welded with a bridge welding assembly 56. The bridge welding assembly 56 is fixedly connected to the chassis frame. A rear shock absorber 54 is provided between the chassis frame and the front connecting bridge 5201.

[0022] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments. The above specific embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the inspiration of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art can also make many forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention and the scope protected by the claims. All of these fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot, Characterized in that, the inspection robot includes a fuselage, a driving mechanism and a steering mechanism installed on the fuselage. The remote photography pan-tilt control system includes a remote control device, a pan-tilt device installed on the fuselage, and a photographing device installed on the pan-tilt device. The pan-tilt device is provided with a zoom adjustment device for adjusting the focal length of the lens of the photographing device, and a control board respectively connected to the photographing device, the pan-tilt device, and the zoom adjustment device. The control board is wirelessly connected to the remote control device through a wireless communication unit. The photographing device includes a target search camera for searching the target inspection area, a visible light camera for photographing visible light images, and an infrared thermal imager for photographing infrared images. The photographing device also includes a first inclination sensor for measuring the vertical elevation angle of the pan-tilt device and the observation angle of the photographing device, and a second inclination sensor for measuring the climbing angle of the inspection robot vehicle body. The first inclination sensor is arranged in a vertically attached manner with the infrared thermal imager, and the second inclination sensor is installed on one side of the fuselage facing the forward direction of the robot. The pan-tilt device includes an azimuth adjustment frame for installing the photographing device, a pitch rotation motor for controlling the pitch rotation of the azimuth adjustment frame, a horizontal rotation motor for controlling the horizontal rotation of the azimuth adjustment frame, and a servo controller respectively connected to the pitch rotation motor, the horizontal rotation motor, and the control board; wherein, the photographing device further includes an ultrasonic ranging sensor for detecting the linear distance between the photographing device and the plane where the measurement point is located. The ultrasonic ranging sensor is placed directly in front of the pan-tilt device. The remote control device is used to obtain the measurement data of the first inclination sensor and the second inclination sensor, compensate the distance measurement value of the ultrasonic ranging sensor according to the measurement data to obtain the actual distance value, and compensate the temperature measurement value of the infrared thermal imager according to the actual distance value and the measurement data.

2. The remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to claim 1, Characterized in that, the zoom adjustment device includes a transmission assembly meshed with the lens housing of the visible light camera and / or the infrared thermal imager, a focusing motor for driving the transmission assembly to rotate, and a single-chip microcomputer respectively connected to the focusing motor and the control board.

3. The remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to claim 2, Characterized in that, the single-chip microcomputer is an STC-12C5A60S2 single-chip microcomputer, and the focusing motor is driven by a stepping motor driver chip of model TMC262.

4. The remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to claim 1, Characterized in that, the remote control device includes a touch display, a rocker controller, and a wireless communicator respectively connecting the rocker controller and the control board.

5. The remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to claim 1, Characterized in that, The optical axes of the target search camera, visible light camera, and infrared thermal imager are parallel to each other and have the same shooting direction.

6. The remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, the target search camera is wirelessly connected to the cloud module, the cloud module pre-stores the overall and / or partial features of the target inspection area, the target search camera takes pictures of the large wide-angle field of view in front of the camera and uploads the captured images to the cloud module, the cloud module detects the images uploaded by the target search camera and collects the overall / partial features of the images, and matches the overall and / or partial features of the collected images with the overall / partial features of the target inspection area stored in the cloud module to identify the location of the target inspection area, and sends the location information to the control board, and the control board controls the pan-tilt device to rotate so that the shooting device is aligned with the target inspection area for shooting, and at the same time controls the zoom adjustment device to adjust the focal length of the lens of the shooting device.

7. The remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, the infrared thermal imager includes a conditioning board, a processing board connected to the conditioning board, a compression board connected to the processing board, and an interface board respectively connected to the compression board and the control board. Among them, the conditioning board includes a signal conditioning module, and the compression board includes a Hi3516 chip module; the processing board includes an FPGA chip module for performing preprocessing operations on the digital video signals transmitted from the signal conditioning module to the processing board; the processing board also includes an image output module for outputting the digital video signals preprocessed by the FPGA chip module in a preset digital video signal format, and the preset digital video signal is one of an LVDS digital video signal, an HDMI standard high-definition video signal, and a PAL standard analog video signal; the Hi3516 chip module is used for compressing the digital video signals preprocessed by the FPGA chip module.

8. The remote photography pan-tilt control system for a substation inspection robot according to claim 7, characterized in that, the Hi3516 chip module includes: an image denoising sub-module for denoising the digital video signals preprocessed by the FPGA chip module; an image enhancement processing sub-module for performing image enhancement and / or edge enhancement processing on the digital video signals preprocessed by the FPGA chip module.

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