The press service of Perm University of Technology announced that the positioning system, specifically developed to combat ice buildup on power lines, has no global equivalent. According to the developers, traditional ice removal methods are expensive and do not guarantee that the problem will not recur.
Currently available drones, including agricultural drones, are unable to pinpoint the location of the liquid sprayer to a centimeter accuracy relative to power lines, making it practically difficult to address high-voltage lines that extend over great heights.
The new device resembles a quadcopter, except its structure is divided into two parts:
The upper part : It contains the control system, video camera, and pump.
The lower part : acts as a reservoir for the anti-icing solution.
The most important innovation lies in the intelligent positioning system , which relies on a longitudinal sensor resembling a sensitive pole, which accurately determines the position of the wire and acts as an "artificial vision".
When the weather service issues a warning of impending frost, the tank is filled with de-icing solution. The operator then manually guides the drone towards the wire using a video camera until the sensor is close to the wire. The system then takes over automatically, activating the hydraulic pump and moving along the wire while maintaining a precise, constant distance.
The side spray nozzle precisely targets the solution without waste. Upon reaching a pole, the drone stops and reverts to manual control to move to the next wire.
The university explained that this development opens new horizons for preventative maintenance of power lines, allowing a shift from treating ice after it forms to preventing it before it does. Furthermore, the process of treating ice using this aircraft is four times less expensive than mechanical or electrical de-icing, and it is safer for workers and does not require power outages for consumers.
