Utility Pole Defect Mapping With UAV Image Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ensuring the structural and functional integrity of utility constructs, such as utility poles, is challenging due to non-uniform and outdated information for locating and inspecting these structures, leading to overlooked adverse conditions like wood rot and loose hardware, which affect the reliability and resiliency of utility infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with cameras and sensors to capture data from multiple angles, combined with machine learning and computer vision, to accurately identify and assess the condition of utility constructs, integrating this data with preexisting information to generate detailed maps and reports on defects and risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If routine comprehensive assessment/inspection of utility constructs is performed, then structural and functional integrity can be ensured, but the process becomes challenging when information used to locate utility constructs is outdated, modified, and/or incorrect
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from ground-level inspection to aerial inspection using UAVs, adding a vertical dimension to the inspection process. This dimensional change allows inspectors to access and assess utility constructs from above, bypassing the limitations of outdated ground-level information and providing comprehensive views of constructs that were previously difficult or impossible to inspect properly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces UAVs as intermediary platforms between inspectors and utility constructs. These UAVs carry imaging devices and sensors that capture data from the constructs, serving as mediators that collect information without requiring direct human contact with difficult-to-reach or hazardous locations, thus improving both reliability and ease of operation.
2Loss of information
If data from multiple sources is aggregated into an easily digestible format, then utility infrastructure assessment is improved, but the task becomes difficult when information is non-uniform and service provider-specific
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal data aggregation system that can handle multiple types of data from different sources (aerial imagery, ground-level photos, sensor data, existing utility records). The system processes and standardizes this non-uniform data into a common format, making it easily digestible and comparable across different service providers and construct types, thus reducing information loss without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms data from various formats and sources by changing its parameters - converting different image resolutions, coordinate systems, and data structures into standardized parameters. This parameter transformation allows heterogeneous data to be integrated into a unified assessment framework, improving information aggregation while managing system complexity through automated standardization processes.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive inspection data is collected from all utility constructs, then accurate mapping and defect identification is achieved, but the time and resources required for inspection increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic aerial inspections using UAVs that can quickly capture comprehensive data from multiple constructs in sequence. Rather than conducting detailed manual inspections of each construct, the system performs periodic aerial surveys that capture overall condition data, allowing for rapid assessment of many constructs while maintaining reasonable accuracy through advanced image analysis and defect detection algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates digital copies of utility constructs through aerial photography and imaging. These digital replicas serve as surrogates for physical inspection, allowing comprehensive assessment to be performed on the digital models rather than requiring extensive physical examination of each construct. This copying approach maintains measurement precision while dramatically reducing inspection time and resource requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
One or more aerial images of a construct (e.g., a utility construct, a utility asset, a power pole, a telephone pole, etc.) may be used to determine a location of the construct. The images may be used to identify adverse conditions affecting the construct such as wood rot, arc damage, flashing, tracking, floating conductors, loose tie-wires, loose hardware, and/or the like. The images may be used to prioritize actions to address the adverse conditions and identify and/or verify the location of the construct. aggregating the inspection data.