A model-driven approach for fast modeling of three-dimensional laser point cloud in large substation

Using point cloud to reconstruct the 3D model of a substation is crucial for smart grid operation. Its main objective is to swiftly capture equipment point cloud data and align each device’s model within the large and noisy point cloud scene of the substation. However, substation reconstruction needs improvement due to the low efficiency of traditional noise-resistant clustering methods and challenges in accurately classifying similar-looking electrical equipment. This paper proposes an automatic modeling framework for large-scale substation point cloud scenes. Firstly, we reduce the substation scene’s dimensionality to improve clustering efficiency and establish relationships between data dimensions using a re-clustering algorithm. Next, a neural network is developed to identify various device types within clusters, even with limited subdivisions. Finally, a model library is employed to register standard models onto the target device’s point cloud, obtaining device types and orientations. Real substation data processing demonstrates the ability to rapidly extract devices from complex and noisy point cloud scenes, effectively avoiding missegmentation issues. The automatic modeling approach achieves a precise substation calculation rate of 92.86%.