Thermal vision camera equipped drone for predictive maintenance of grid sub-stations

Abstract

In the modern era, a constant supply of electrical energy is an essential part of society. Any cause that may result in power outage should not only be eliminated but detected in advance and prevented. Power system protection techniques and planned maintenance and inspections were intended to prevent those faults, however despite these measures faults still occur and result in equipment malfunction. This capstone project is intended to design a system that processes infrared images and detects overheating in the power substation units, preventing equipment from damage and ensuring constant operation of the power system. This project introduces a system that analyzes images captured on thermal cameras, uses image processing algorithms to detect hot-spots and make a decision upon equipment’s condition. By building a web application, a general system has been implemented that is open for any power company, which establishes a service of maintenance and reduces manual inspection.