A Passive Compliance Obstacle-Crossing Robot for Power Line Inspection and Maintenance

In scenarios of the overhead power line system, manual methods are inefficient and unsafe. Meanwhile, the majority of cantilevered robots have poor efficiency when crossing obstacles. This letter proposes a novel power line inspection and maintenance robot to solve these problems. The robot employs a passive compliance obstacle-crossing principle, which could rapidly cross obstacles with the cooperation of gas springs and climbing wheels. Under high payload, the robot could take 5–15 seconds without any complex strategies to roll over obstacles. A variable configuration platform is also designed, which has a multiple line mode and a single line mode. It makes the robot suitable for different kinds of overhead power lines. Meanwhile, the related adaptability analyses are presented. Manipulators are also installed to help the robot perform specific maintenance tasks. The results of lab experiments and field tests reveal that the robot could stably and rapidly cross obstacles, such as suspension clamps, vibration dampers, and spacers, and could perform three kinds of maintenance tasks on the line.