Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Smart Grids’

Transmission Line Fault Monitoring with Gesture

Controlled Approach

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

SUBMITTED BY
Name Univ. Roll No.
AZIZUL ISLAM 10801621067
BHARGAV PRASAD SINHA 10801621050
ROHAN KUMAR SAH 10801621062
SOVAN PAL 10801621057
RAHUL KUMAR RAI 10801621059

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

DR. RUDRA PRATAB SINGH

Assistant Professor

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ASANSOL ENGINEERING COLLEGE
AFFILIATED TO
MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
 DECEMBER 2023

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ASANSOL ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Vivekananda Sarani, Kanyapur, Asansol, West Bengal – 713305

Certificate of Recommendation

I hereby recommend that the preliminary thesis report entitled, “Unmanned

Aerial Vehicle for Smart Grids’ Transmission Line Fault Monitoring with
Gesture Controlled Approach” carried out under our supervision by the group of
students listed below may be accepted in partial fulfillment of the 7th semester
requirement for the degree of “Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering” of
Asansol Engineering College under MAKAUT.
Name Univ. Roll No.
AZIZUL ISLAM 10801621067
BHARGAV PRASAD SINHA 10801621050
ROHAN KUMAR SAH 10801621062
SOVAN PAL 10801621057
RAHUL KUMAR RAI 10801621059

…………………………………
(DR. RUDRA PRATAB SINGH)
Thesis Supervisor

Countersigned:

……………………………… ………………………………
(Dr. Apurba Chatterjee) (Dr. Dharmbir Prasad)
Head of the Department U.G. Project Coordinator
Electrical Engineering, Dept. of Electrical Engineering,
Asansol Engineering College, Asansol Engineering College,
Asansol-713305
ii
Asansol-713305

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

ASANSOL ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Vivekananda Sarani, Kanyapur, Asansol, West Bengal – 713305

Certificate of Approval

The forgoing thesis is hereby approved as creditable study of an engineering

subject carried out and presented in a manner satisfactory to warrant its acceptance as
prerequisite to the degree’s 7th semester for which it has been submitted. It is
understood that by this approval the undersigned does not necessarily endorse or
approve any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn therein but
approve the thesis only for the purpose for which it is submitted.

…………………………………

(DR. RUDRA PRATAB SINGH)

Thesis Supervisor

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 Acknowledgement

It is our great privilege to express profound and sincere gratitude to our Project Supervisor,
Guide Name for providing us a very cooperative and precious guidance at every stage of the
present project work being carried out under his/her supervision. His valuable advice and
instructions in carrying out the present study has been a very rewarding and pleasurable
experience that has greatly benefited us throughout the course of work.

We would like to convey our sincere gratitude towards Dr. Apurba Chatterjee, Head of the
Department of Electrical Engineering, Asansol Engineering College for providing us the
requisite support for time completion of our work. We would also like pay our heartiest thanks
and gratitude to all the teachers of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Asansol
Engineering College for various suggestions being provided in attaining success in our work.

We would like to express our earnest thanks to our other colleagues along with all technical
staffs of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Asansol Engineering College for their
valuable assistance being provided during our project work.

Finally, we would like to express our deep sense of gratitude to our parents for their
constant motivation and support throughout our work.

…………………………………
(Azizul Islam)

…………………………………
(Bhargav Prasad Sinha)

…………………………………
(Rohan Kumar Sah)

…………………………………
(Sovan Pal)

…………………………………
(Rahul Kumar Rai)

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 Abstract

Defects in high voltage transmission line components such as cracked insulators, broken
wires rope, and corroded power line joints, arc traces, broken shed, are very common due
to continuous exposure of these components to harsh environmental conditions.
Consequently, they pose a great threat to humans and the environment. Long distance
transmission of electric power mainly adopts high voltage and ultrahigh voltage
overhead power lines. Line safe operation is the guarantee of long-distance transmission.
Running state, setting defects and condition of transmission line will affect the stable
operation, so the monitoring of electric power line is very important. The traditional
patrol method mainly relies on human monitoring. This paper presents a real-time aerial
power line inspection system that aims to detect power line components such as
insulators (polymer and porcelain), splitters, damper-weights, and /power lines, and then
analyse these transmission line components for potential defects. The proposed system
employs a gesture-controlled drone which uses image processing method to recognize
the fault condition in the transmission line. The drone's control system was designed to
recognize gestures and translate them into specific commands for the drone. The
ADXL335 accelerometer was used to detect the orientation and movement of the user's
hand, which was then translated into specific commands such as pitch, roll, and yaw.
This system reduces human efforts and increases the probability of finding transmission
line faults which is very beneficial and allows us to excel in different aspect of
monitoring potential transmission line faults. The detected components are then analyzed
using novel defect detection algorithms, presented in this paper. Results show that the
proposed detection and localization system is robust against highly cluttered
environment, while the proposed defect analyzer outperforms similar researches in terms
of defect detection precision and recall. With the help of the proposed automatic defect
analyzing system, manual inspection time can be reduced.

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 Contents

Certificate of Recommendation…………………………………………………..…………. ii
Certificate of Approval………………………………………………………………............. iii
Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………............................ iv
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………...………….. v
Contents……………………………………………………………………………………… v
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………. vii
List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………. viii
1. Preface…………………………………………………………….………………… 2
1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………...…………… 3
1.2 Motivation of the project………………………………….………………….. 4
1.3 Basic description of the project………………………….…………………… 5
1.4 Dissertation Structure………………………………….……………………… 6
2. Literature Review 7
2.1 General……………………………………………………...………………… 8
2.2 Review of Basic working Mechanism …………......….…...………………… 11
2.3 Motion Control Mechanism …………………………………...……………... 14
2.4 16
3. Mathematical modeling and components description…………..………………… 17
3.1 High torque gear motor…………………………………..…………………… 17
3.2 Arduino microcontroller………………………………….…………………… 18
3.3 UPS battery……………………………………………….…………………… 18
3.4 Motor driver…………………………………………….…………………….. 20
3.5 Solar panel…………………………………………….……………………… 21
4. Proposed control mechanism…………………………………….…………………. 22
4.1 Driving mechanism…………………………………………………………… 23
4.2 Hybrid solar charging mechanism……………………….…………………… 25
4. Simulation Results…………………………………………...…………………….… 29
4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………..………….. 29
4.2 Simulation Drone………...……………...……… 31
4.3 Simulation of DC series motor using SIMULINK……………………...……. 33
5. Discussion and Conclusion ……...…………………………………………….……. 39
6.1 Discussion…………………………………..………………………….…….. 39
6.2 Future work…………………………………..….……………………...…….. 40
6.3 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….. 41
References…………………………………………………………………………………… 42

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 List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 XXXXX 07

Fig. 2.2 XXXXX 08
Fig. 2.3 XXXXX 09

vii
 List of Tables

Table 4.1 XXXXX 40

Table 5.1 XXXXX 46
Table 5.2 XXXXX 46

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Preface
1.1 Introduction
The transmission line plays a very important role in the power system, and the smooth
operation of the transmission line is the key to ensuring the operation of the power
supply system. Because the working environment of transmission lines is very different,
in the process of long distance high-voltage transmission, the transmission lines need to
be exposed to the outdoors, withstand the test of wind and sun, and there are birds and
other activities on the line, and its safe operation cannot be effectively achieved. Because
of this, the detection and maintenance of transmission lines is a key issue in the work of
the power transmission sector. Regular inspection of the line by manual or automatic
equipment can detect and evaluate the operation status of the line, and timely find out
the faults and hidden dangers of the line operation according to the test results, so as to
ensure the safe and effective operation of the power line and ensure the power supply for
people’s production and life of stability. There are many detection methods for
transmission lines, including more traditional manual line inspection methods, advanced
line inspection robots, and aircraft inspection methods. These methods provide sufficient

Fig2 : traditional manual line inspection

guarantee for the inspection of transmission lines, and transmission line inspection work
have been completed from different aspects. The ground line detection generally relies
on the way that the inspection staffs passes the ground, and the line is tracked and
observed by the naked eye or detection equipment. The method has strong adaptability,
and experienced inspectors can discover various faults and hidden dangers of the line
through field observation. However, the efficiency of this method is relatively low, and
the requirements for testing personnel are relatively high. It is also prone to missed
detection and wrong detection due to personnel fatigue and negligence. Therefore, with
the gradual progress of science and technology, it needs to be improved and replaced.
The line patrol robot moves along the transmission line through a specially designed
detection robot. In the process, the detection of the transmission line is completed, and
real-time or follow-up analysis is given according to the detection results to find out the
faults and hidden dangers of the line, so as to solve the problem, and check the safety
and reliability of transmission lines. Compared with the manual ground detection
method, the transmission line detection in this way has a higher level of automation, and
can also be close to various power facilities for detailed detection. However, when the
robot crosses various obstacles and fault positions on the line, it still has certain technical
difficulties, and the climbing and movement of the line-following robot on the line will
cause a certain degree of wear and tear to the line itself. Therefore, this solution can only
be used for some specific lines. Power transmission line inspection is to use helicopters,
and other types of aircraft to conduct fight detection on the line. The aircraft files along
the line according to the set plan and parameters. On the way, the line is detected by

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visible light, infrared light, etc., and the collected detection data is transmitted and
processed, and finally the entire inspection process is completed. The aircraft line patrol

Fig 1 : Advanced Line Inspection Robots

solution has the advantages of fast detection speed, comprehensive detection data, and
high degree of detection automation. It can overcome the inadaptability of traditional
ground detection to the terrain, and can also avoid the line loss caused by the climbing of
the line patrol robot. Moreover, because fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and airships
such as balloons and airships can be used for aircraft patrolling, the detection of the line
can be completed from different angles and positions at different speeds, so the detection
effect is much higher than that of traditional detection methods. However, the price of
general aircraft is relatively expensive. Only by efficiently using these aircraft and
related equipment can the detection cost be effectively controlled. With the development
of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, there is a brand-new option for power
transmission line inspection. The cost of the UAV inspection process is relatively low,
and the use is flexible and expandable. By installing the corresponding inspection
equipment for remote control, most of the power lines currently erected can be
inspected. In addition, since the manual inspection along the line and the inspection of
the driving aircraft are eliminated, the inspection process of the unmanned aerial vehicle
line will greatly enhance the safety of the work and ensure the life safety of the
maintenance personnel in the power industry. UAV detection not only inherits the
advantages of the general aircraft detection process, but also makes up for the expensive
and inconvenient shortcomings of manned aircraft detection along the line, and truly
makes the transmission line inspection process a breakthrough in the direction of full
automation, which is a technological tool with a bright future. With the further
advancement of power grid construction and transformation, UAV line detection has
increasingly shown great scientific research value and application value. In order to

Fig3: Manual Control UAV

ensure the safety and stability of power supply in the current huge and complex power
grid system, UAV detection has become an urgent need for the development of the

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current power system. The use of UAVs has become increasingly popular in recent years
for various applications. One of the limitations of UAVs is the need for manual control
through remote controllers, which can be challenging for inexperienced users. Gesture-
controlled UAVs have emerged as a potential solution to this limitation, providing an
intuitive and immersive way of controlling UAVs. In this project, we present the
development of a gesture-controlled UAV using a PAN2025850X-based flight controller
and a 6-channel controller based on the 2135CTa IC. The PAN2025850X is a high-
performance flight controller that offers advanced features such as stabilization, altitude
hold, and GPS navigation. The 6-channel controller based on the 2135CTa IC provides
robust control of the UAV's motors, ensuring stable flight. Additionally, an Atmega
328PU microcontroller and an ADXL335 accelerometer were used to enable gesture-
based control of the UAV. The UAV's control system was designed to recognize
gestures and translate them into specific commands for the UAV. The ADXL335
accelerometer was used to detect the orientation and movement of the user's hand, which
was then translated into specific commands such as pitch, roll, and yaw. The user can
control the UAV's altitude by tilting their hand forward or backward. The UAV's
stability was ensured by implementing a PID control system, which adjusts the UAV's
flight parameters based on feedback from the accelerometer. The gesture-controlled
UAV was tested in various flight scenarios, and the results showed that the UAV could
be easily controlled using gestures. The UAV was able to hover in place, move in
different directions, and adjust its altitude accurately. The system's robustness and
reliability were also tested, and the UAV was found to be stable and responsive even in
challenging flight conditions. In conclusion, we developed a gesture-controlled UAV
using a PAN2025850X-based flight controller and a 6-channel controller based on the
2135CTa IC. The use of an ADXL335 accelerometer and an Atmega 328PU
microcontroller enabled intuitive and immersive gesture based control of the UAV. The
results of our tests demonstrated the UAV's stability, robustness, and ease of control,
making it a potential solution for various applications, including aerial photography,
surveillance, and search and rescue operations. When using UAVs for line inspection,
the amount of transmission line image and video data collected by the UAV is very
large. It is impossible for the staff to manually judge whether the transmission line is
normal or not based on the images. It is necessary to use computer vision technology,
intelligent algorithms such as image processing technology realize the inspection of
transmission lines, and the identification of transmission line components is an important
part of realizing intelligent inspection. Furthermost, the integration of advanced image
processing methods allows the UAV to capture and analyse visual data in real-time. This
capability enables the system to identify and categorize components, laying the
foundation for subsequent defect analysis. Here, we clarified the types of UAVs, and
further discussed the structure of UAV power line detection system and the role played
by each component. Also, we reviewed the development of power line image processing
technology. We revealed the basic methods of power line image processing, and then we
discussed advanced power line recognition technology based on depth learning.

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