UAV Photovoltaic Panel Fault Location via GPS and Camera Attitude
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for locating faulty photovoltaic (PV) panels using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) require high-precision route planning and are prone to accuracy loss and cumulative errors due to the need for precise grid calculations and 3D reconstruction, which increases workload and difficulty.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a UAV that captures image information and GPS/attitude data to determine the position of faulty PV panels, allowing for automatic flight and shooting along a preset route with GPS and attitude information, enabling the remote-control device to identify faulty panels without high-precision electric field mapping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high-precision electric field mapping and 3D reconstruction technologies are used to establish route planning, then the UAV can inspect PV panels along a planned route, but the requirements on the planned route become very high and the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the complex 3D reconstruction and electric field mapping components from the route planning system. Instead of requiring high-precision pre-planned routes, the system uses real-time GPS positioning and image capture data to locate faulty panels, thereby simplifying the overall system while maintaining positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/computational system of 3D reconstruction and electric field mapping with a simpler GPS-based positioning system combined with image analysis. This substitution eliminates the need for complex pre-processing and route planning while achieving the same goal of locating faulty PV panels.
2Measurement precision
If grid calculation is performed on one row of PV panels each time with strict route requirements, then locating accuracy can be maintained, but the workload and difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the PV panel inspection task by using GPS coordinates to directly identify the location of faulty panels without requiring systematic grid calculations across entire rows. Each faulty panel is located independently through image capture and GPS positioning, simplifying the implementation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows the UAV to autonomously capture images and the system to automatically process these images with GPS data to locate faulty panels, eliminating the need for manual route planning and complex grid calculations. The process serves itself without requiring extensive human intervention or complex pre-planning.
3Measurement precision
If strict route planning requirements are imposed to avoid accuracy loss and cumulative errors, then positioning accuracy is maintained, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of planning routes to achieve accurate positioning, the patent inverts the approach by capturing images along any route and using GPS data from the captured images to determine panel locations. This reverses the traditional workflow and eliminates the need for strict pre-planned routes, greatly simplifying operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for locating a faulty photovoltaic (PV) panel includes controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to fly and perform image capturing, obtaining image information of the PV panel captured by a camera carried by the UAV, obtaining global positioning (GPS) information of the UAV and attitude information of the camera at a shooting time when the camera captures the image information, and, in response to determining that the image information includes fault information of the PV panel, determining a position of the PV panel according to the GPS information of the UAV and the attitude information of the camera at the shooting time.