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POWER LINE INSPECTION BY AI DRONE
Project Summary
Araya's Autonomous Agents team is developing technology that allows drones to fly autonomously based on image information from cameras mounted on the drones (see also this article for more information).
This technology will be used to automate the inspection of power lines, with the aim of significantly improving the efficiency of work previously carried out by humans.
Social context of the project
In logistics and infrastructure inspections, there is an increasing need for manpower and work safety. For example, inventory in warehouses and inspections in factories require work in high places and extensive movement and coverage.
By using drones that fly autonomously, work at heights and over a wide area can be done automatically, in a short time, and at low cost.
Benefits of Araya's Autonomous Drone
The autonomously flying drones that ARAYA is developing have the following main advantages.
Application example 1: Inventory in the warehouse
The drone flies autonomously, tracing all the products, scanning the barcodes and QR codes on the inventory, and registering the inventory in the inventory management system.
The system is expected to save labor, improve inventory accuracy, and shorten shutdown periods.
[2020.5.18 updated] Demo has been uploaded. Please see this page as well.
Application example 2: Power line inspection
2020.5.18 Update] Application Examples and Demos have been uploaded. Please see this page as well.
The drone flies along a flexed power line and captures images / videos of the power line.
At that time, by controlling the transmission line so that it is kept at a certain distance, it is possible to always take a picture of the transmission line at a resolution appropriate for inspection.
Application example 3: Piping inspection in a factory
The drone follows the pipes that are installed in high places and over a wide area in the factory and inspects them for damage and abnormalities.
This is expected to save labor, improve safety, and increase inspection accuracy.
Technology to realize autonomous flight
By applying deep learning to drone control, we can autonomously determine the direction of movement of the aircraft based on the current camera image. Specifically, we use supervised learning and reinforcement learning to train a deep neural network that uses image data as input and outputs drone control commands (left turn, forward turn, right turn).
Example of current results: drone capable of flying along a rope
A demonstration environment is set up indoors with a rope as a power line, and the drone automatically flies to follow the rope.
Technology to realize autonomous flight
By applying deep learning to drone control, we can make the drone autonomously determine the direction of movement of the aircraft based on the current camera image. Specifically, we use supervised learning to train a deep neural network that takes the drone's camera image (image data showing power lines) as input and outputs control commands for the drone (ascent, descent, approaching or leaving the power lines).
For the future
We are currently developing and verifying autonomous drone technology for the inspection of power lines and other infrastructure in a demonstration environment built within our company, and we hope to proceed with verification in an actual environment in the future. We are looking for partner companies that will work with us to develop solutions using Araya's autonomous drone technology.
