Geometric design of an inspection robot for 110kV power transmission lines

According to the requirements of inspection tasks and characteristics of obstacles on 110kV power transmission lines, a novel inspection robot mechanism which adopts unfolding mechanism and the gantry structure is presented. Through altering the unfolding mechanism, the robot can navigate the obstacle quickly. The gantry structure can raise the stiffness of the mechanism. Based on the constraints of the specific features of the electric power transmission and the context of power utility operation, the geometric parameters are customized. The navigation of suspension clamp is simulated, and the structure analysis is studied. A prototype has been developed, and the field experiments has been carried out. The simulation results and field experimental results demonstrate that the mechanism has such characteristics as good motion stability, strong loading capacity and excellent obstacle negotiation capability. © 2016 IEEE.