Method and system for measuring and calculating distance between power line and adjacent object

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system for measuring and calculating the distance between an electric power circuit and an adjacent object, belongs to the technical field of electric power circuit inspection and maintenance, and is particularly suitable for roughly measuring and calculating the distance between the electric power circuit and the adjacent objects such as surrounding branches, buildings and advertising boards so as to evaluate and maintain the safety of electric power transmission. The method comprises the following steps: shooting an image at a vertical view angle and extracting key points in the image; calculating a horizontal component distance; shooting an image at a horizontal view angle and positioning key points in the image; calculating a vertical component distance; and calculating the linear distance between the power line and an adjacent object. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle inspection scheme provided by the invention, the safety and efficiency of electric power inspection operation are improved, a wide range and complex terrains can be covered, and potential safety hazards can be pre-warned, so that the transmission safety of an electric power circuit is guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of power line inspection and maintenance, and particularly relates to a method and system for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent objects, which is applicable to roughly measuring the distance between a power line and adjacent objects such as surrounding tree branches, buildings, billboards, etc., so as to evaluate and maintain the safety of power transmission. Background Art

[0002] In the power system, it is crucial to ensure the safe operation of power lines, especially high-voltage power lines. For this purpose, it is necessary to regularly measure the distance between the lines and surrounding objects to prevent objects such as tree branches, buildings, billboards, etc. from approaching or contacting the lines, resulting in power line failures, tripping, or safety accidents.

[0003] The safe operation of power lines requires maintaining a safe distance from surrounding objects. Traditional measurement methods mostly rely on operation and maintenance personnel to conduct regular on-site inspections, observing the distance between the lines and adjacent objects with the naked eye. When necessary, manual climbing or distance measuring instruments are used. This seems to be the most direct and simplest method, but there are many defects or deficiencies: First, human vision has limitations. Under different distances, angles, and light conditions, it may be difficult for operation and maintenance personnel to accurately judge the actual distance between the lines and adjacent objects. Especially in complex terrains or adverse weather conditions, the line of sight may be blocked, greatly reducing the effectiveness of visual inspections. Second, the experience and judgment of operation and maintenance personnel also affect the measurement accuracy. Different personnel may have different perceptions of the same distance, and the lack of a unified standard will lead to inconsistent measurement results. Third, manual on-site inspections may involve certain safety risks, especially near high-voltage power lines. It is not only inefficient and not practical for large-scale power systems, but may also miss some details, resulting in safety hazards not being discovered in a timely manner. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem that the present invention attempts to solve is how to estimate the distance between a power transmission line composed of three wires and its surrounding adjacent objects to meet the requirements of all-weather, high-efficiency, unmanned, etc. power inspection operation scenarios, so as to ensure the safe operation of the power system.

[0005] In order to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art and solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a method and system for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent objects, and adopts the following technical solutions.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent objects, the method comprising:

[0007] S100. Obtain an image of a power line and its adjacent objects taken by a drone from a vertical perspective, and obtain the key point positions of the power line and its adjacent objects in the image;

[0008] S200. Calculate the horizontal component distance C1 of the actual space between the power line and its adjacent objects, and its calculation formula is where C2 is the horizontal distance measured in the image between the lower-side wire among the three wires and its adjacent object, A1 is the horizontal distance of the actual space between the two side wires among the three wires, and A2 is the horizontal distance measured in the image between the two side wires among the three wires;

[0009] S300. Obtain an image of a power line and its adjacent objects taken by a drone from a horizontal perspective, and locate the key point positions of the power line and its adjacent objects described in step S100 in the image;

[0010] S400. Calculate the vertical component distance D1 of the actual space between the power line and its adjacent objects, and its calculation formula is where D2 is the vertical distance measured in the image between the lower-side wire among the three wires and its adjacent object, B1 is the vertical distance of the actual space between the upper wire and the lower two wires among the three wires, and B2 is the vertical distance measured in the image between the upper wire and the lower two wires among the three wires;

[0011] S500. Calculate the distance S between the power line and its adjacent objects, and its calculation formula is

[0012] Optionally, the method further includes step S600: when the calculated value S exceeds a preset value, output a warning message.

[0013] Optionally, the methods for measuring the distances A2 and C2 in step S200 and the distances B2 and D2 in step S400 include the pixel counting method and the image display length method.

[0014] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a system for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent objects, and the system includes:

[0015] An imaging module, configured to: take images of a power line and its adjacent objects;

[0016] A drone platform, configured to: perform power line inspection and carry the imaging module;

[0017] A communication module, configured to: communicate with a ground control station;

[0018] The central control unit is configured to: control the implementation of the method as described in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0019] Optionally, the system further includes an infrared thermal imager configured to: detect the heat generation situation of the line.

[0020] Optionally, the communication tasks of the communication module include receiving telemetry instructions and sending real-time video streams.

[0021] Regarding the beneficial effects produced by the technical solution of the present invention, they are described as follows.

[0022] First, through the on-site image shooting of the drone and the subsequent data processing, not only the risk of personnel directly contacting the high-voltage line is reduced, the operation safety is improved, but also the coverage of the power inspection can reach complex terrain areas that are difficult for people to reach;

[0023] Second, the automated operation process greatly reduces manual intervention, improves the measurement efficiency, and shortens the inspection cycle;

[0024] Third, by providing early warning information to the operators, so that the operators can eliminate potential safety hazards as early as possible to further ensure the safety of power transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 : Flow chart of the core steps of the method of this application;

[0026] Figure 2 : Front view schematic diagram of the positional distribution between the wire and its adjacent objects;

[0027] Figure 3 : Top view schematic diagram of the positional distribution between the wire and its adjacent objects;

[0028] Figure 4 : Side view schematic diagram of the positional distribution between the wire and its adjacent objects;

[0029] Figure 5 : Schematic diagram showing the relevant distances between the wire and its adjacent objects in the actual space;

[0030] Figure 6 : Schematic diagram showing the horizontal distance between the wire and its adjacent objects photographed from the top view angle of the drone;

[0031] Figure 7 : Schematic diagram showing the vertical distance between the wire and its adjacent objects photographed from the side view angle of the drone. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the features of the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below through specific embodiments and in conjunction with the drawings.

[0033] In this application, the so-called power line refers to a metal wire used for transmitting and distributing electricity. In this application document, the power line is sometimes simply referred to as an electric wire.

[0034] The present invention is used to measure the distance between a triangular power line and its adjacent objects. Figure 2 A cross-sectional schematic diagram perpendicular to the power transmission direction is given, which involves three power transmission wires and their adjacent objects. In the distribution of the three power transmission wires, one wire located above and the two wires located below form an isosceles triangle.

[0035] When viewed from a top-down perspective, the distribution of the power transmission line and its adjacent objects is schematically shown as Figure 3 shown. When viewed from a side perspective, the distribution of the power transmission line and its adjacent objects is schematically shown as Figure 4 shown.

[0036] In Figure 2 Based on the cross-sectional schematic diagram, the identification of the relevant distances between the electric wire and its adjacent objects is as Figure 5 shown. It can be seen from this figure that there is a numerical value A1 of the horizontal distance between the two lower horizontal electric wires, and there is a numerical value B1 of the vertical distance between the upper electric wire and the two lower electric wires. These two numerical values are roughly predetermined and can be directly obtained or calculated according to the construction specifications of the power line, even if the three electric wires have a sag phenomenon in the transmission path.

[0037] The task of the present invention is how to roughly measure the distance between the power transmission line and its adjacent objects, especially to measure the distance between the lower side wire of the three electric wires close to the adjacent object and the adjacent object as shown in Figure 5 . The purpose of the measurement is to monitor this distance parameter to meet the requirements of relevant specifications and ensure the safety of power transmission.

[0038] To achieve this task, in the technical solution of the present invention, a drone is used to vertically photograph and horizontally photograph the distribution of the power transmission line and its adjacent objects, and then the photographed images are analyzed and processed: on the one hand, by analyzing the vertically photographed images, according to the linear proportional relationship between the horizontal distance between the electric wire and the adjacent object in the image and the horizontal distance between the two lower electric wires among the three electric wires, the actual horizontal space distance between the electric wire and the adjacent object is measured; on the other hand, by analyzing the horizontally photographed images, according to the linear proportional relationship between the vertical distance between the electric wire and the adjacent object in the image and the vertical distance between the upper electric wire and the two lower electric wires among the three electric wires, the actual vertical space distance between the electric wire and the adjacent object is measured. Finally, based on the measured actual horizontal space distance and actual vertical space distance, the distance between the power line and its adjacent objects in the actual space is calculated according to the Pythagorean theorem.

[0039] In this application, the so-called objects adjacent to power lines refer to objects in the power system that may approach or come into contact with power lines and pose a threat to the safe operation of power lines, including but not limited to trees, buildings, billboards, etc.

[0040] In the power system, the safe operation of power lines is of crucial importance. It is necessary to maintain a certain distance between power lines and their adjacent objects to avoid safety accidents caused by contact between power lines and their adjacent objects. For example, the "Regulations on the Protection of Electric Power Facilities" (issued on January 7, 1998) in China stipulates the safe distances that must be maintained between conductors of different voltage levels and their adjacent objects:

[0041] 1 - 10 kV ~ 5 m;

[0042] 35 - 110 kV ~ 10 m;

[0043] 154 - 330 kV ~ 15 m;

[0044] 500 kV ~ 20 m.

[0045] The so-called unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in this application, that is, an unmanned aircraft, is an aircraft that is controlled to fly using radio remote control equipment and a program control device. It is equipped with a camera device for photographing power lines and their adjacent objects, and can control the realization of horizontal-view photography and vertical-view photography.

[0046] As a first embodiment, the present invention provides a method for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent object, and the method includes:

[0047] S100. Obtain an image containing a power line and its adjacent object taken by a UAV from a vertical perspective, and obtain the key point positions of the power line and its adjacent object in the image;

[0048] S200. Calculate the horizontal component distance C1 of the actual space between the power line and its adjacent object, and its calculation formula is where C2 is the horizontal distance measured in the image between the lower-side wire among the three wires and its adjacent object, A1 is the horizontal distance of the actual space between the two side wires among the three wires, and A2 is the horizontal distance measured in the image between the two side wires among the three wires;

[0049] S300. Obtain an image containing a power line and its adjacent object taken by a UAV from a horizontal perspective, and locate the key point positions of the power line and its adjacent object described in step S100 in the image;

[0050] S400. Calculate the vertical component distance D1 of the actual space between the power line and its adjacent object, and its calculation formula is Among them, D2 is the vertical distance measured in the image between the lower-side wire among the three wires and its adjacent object, B1 is the vertical distance of the actual space between the upper wire and the lower two wires among the three wires, and B2 is the vertical distance measured in the image between the upper wire and the lower two wires among the three wires;

[0051] S500. Calculate the distance S between the power line and its adjacent object. The calculation formula is

[0053] Figure 1 is the core step flow chart of the method of this application, including vertical perspective image acquisition and key point extraction in the image (S100), horizontal component calculation (S200), horizontal perspective image acquisition and key point positioning in the image (S300), vertical component calculation (S400), and target distance calculation (S500).

[0054] In step S100, the UAV is in a position above or below the power line and its adjacent object, and takes an image of it from a vertical perspective. Specifically, it includes the vertical downward shooting when the UAV is above the power line and the vertical upward shooting when the UAV is below the power line. In the image taken in this vertical shooting, the power line and its adjacent object are included.

[0055] The designation of the key point positions of the power line and its adjacent object in the image can be done by the method of manual marking or automatically marked by the image recognition algorithm of computer software. However, no matter which designation method is used, this key point must be the position point with the shortest distance between the power line and its adjacent object. For example, for the adjacent object, this key point is the end of the branch closest to the power line. Considering the actual situation that the power line is linearly distributed and the shape of the adjacent object may be irregular, the key point position usually shows as a point on the power line closest to the adjacent object and several points on the adjacent object closest to the power line.

[0056] In step S300, the UAV is in a horizontal position on the side of the power line and its adjacent object, and takes an image of it from a horizontal perspective. In other words, the image taken in this shooting includes the power line and its adjacent object of the same target as in the previous step S100.

[0057] In step S500, according to the horizontal component value C1 calculated in the previous step S200 and the vertical component value D1 calculated in step S400, through the Pythagorean theorem, the actual distance S between the power line and its adjacent object is further calculated.

[0058] Through Figure 6 and Figure 7 The schematic diagrams of can help understand the calculation methods of the aforementioned values C1 and D1.

[0059] In each step of the above method, the horizontal component of the distance between the power line and its adjacent object is measured through steps S100 and S200, and the vertical component of the distance between the power line and its adjacent object is measured through steps S300 and S400. It should be noted that the sequence of calculating the horizontal component and the vertical component here is not limited, and the numerical sequence numbers of each step are only for the convenience of description. On the premise that the technical problems of the present invention can be solved and the technical effects of the present invention can be achieved, there are still other step transformation forms different from the current specific embodiment.

[0060] From the above description, it can be seen that in order to solve the technical problems to be solved by the present invention, the technical means adopted by the present invention is to use the images of the power transmission line and its adjacent objects taken vertically and horizontally by the unmanned aerial vehicle, as well as the established horizontal distance value and vertical distance value between the three wires. By analyzing the taken images, especially the distances between key points in the images, and then through the calculation of linear relationships, the horizontal distance and vertical distance between a wire that may have potential hazards and its adjacent object are obtained. And based on the horizontal distance value and vertical distance value, the distance between the power line and its adjacent object is finally calculated by the Pythagorean theorem. On the basis of measuring the distance by this method, the safety of the power line can be effectively evaluated, and appropriate maintenance measures can be further taken when necessary.

[0061] In view of the characteristics of shooting and imaging, there are naturally certain errors in the algorithm for linearly calculating the actual space distance using the taken images. However, for the working scenarios that only need to roughly measure the distance between the power line and its adjacent object, it can meet the application requirements and achieve the expected effects.

[0062] An optional embodiment, the method further includes step S600: when the calculated value S exceeds a preset value, an early warning message is output.

[0063] In this specific embodiment, by timely discovering or early predicting abnormal situations and further taking measures to prevent the problem from deteriorating and causing danger to the power line.

[0064] An optional embodiment, the methods used for measuring the distance between A2 and C2 in step S200 and the distance between B2 and D2 in step S400 include the pixel counting method and the image display length method.

[0065] In this specific embodiment, when measuring the distances of A2, C2, B2, and D2, it is necessary to quantify the length of the target straight line in the image, which can be achieved by the pixel counting method or the method of measuring the length of the target straight line displayed in the image. The former calculates the number of pixels that make up the target straight line in the image, and its measurement method is relatively accurate, while the latter uses the method of directly measuring the length of the target straight line in the image display.

[0066] As a second embodiment, the present invention provides a system for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent objects, and the system includes:

[0067] An imaging module configured to: capture an image of the power line and its adjacent objects;

[0068] A drone platform configured to: perform power line inspection and carry the imaging module;

[0069] A communication module configured to: communicate with a ground control station;

[0070] A central control unit configured to: control and implement the method as described in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] An optional embodiment, the system further includes an infrared thermal imager configured to: detect the heating condition of the line.

[0072] In this specific embodiment, the infrared thermal imager is used to detect the heating condition of the line in order to timely discover potential faults existing in the line.

[0073] An optional embodiment, the communication tasks of the communication module include receiving telemetry instructions and sending real-time video streams.

[0074] In this specific embodiment, the specific functions of the communication module are defined.

[0075] Finally, it should be noted that although the present invention has been exemplarily described through specific embodiments, it does not constitute a limitation on the scope of patent protection of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that various equivalent substitutions and optimizations and improvements can still be made to the specific embodiments of the present invention, and any substitution and improvement without departing from the spirit of the present invention should be covered within the scope of patent protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent objects, characterized in that, The method includes: S100. Obtain an image of a power line and its adjacent objects taken by a drone from a vertical perspective, and obtain the key point positions of the power line and its adjacent objects in the image; S200. Calculate the horizontal component distance C1 of the actual space between the power line and its adjacent object, and its calculation formula is wherein, C2 is the horizontal distance measured in the image between the lower-side wire among the three wires and its adjacent object, A1 is the horizontal distance of the actual space between the two side wires among the three wires, and A2 is the horizontal distance measured in the image between the two side wires among the three wires; S300. Obtain an image of a power line and its adjacent objects taken by a drone from a horizontal perspective, and locate the key point positions of the power line and its adjacent objects described in step S100 in the image; S400. Calculate the vertical component distance D1 of the actual space between the power line and its adjacent object, and its calculation formula is where D2 is the vertical distance measured in the image between the lower-side wire among the three wires and its adjacent object, B1 is the vertical distance of the actual space between the upper wire and the lower two wires among the three wires, and B2 is the vertical distance measured in the image between the upper wire and the lower two wires among the three wires; S500. Calculate the distance S between the power line and its adjacent object, and its calculation formula is 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes step S600: When the calculated value S exceeds a preset value, output a warning message.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein For the distance measurement between A2 and C2 in step S200 and the distance measurement between B2 and D2 in step S400, the methods used include the pixel counting method and the image display length method.

4. A system for measuring the distance between a power line and its adjacent object, characterized in that, The system includes: An imaging module configured to: capture images of a power line and its adjacent objects; A drone platform configured to: perform power line inspections and carry the imaging module; A communication module configured to: communicate with a ground control station; A central control unit configured to: control and implement the method described in any one of claims 1-3.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The system further includes an infrared thermal imager configured to: detect the heat generation condition of the line.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein The communication tasks of the communication module include receiving telemetry instructions and sending real-time video streams.

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