Practical Applications of Automatic Image Analysis of Overhead Power Lines

Journal article, 2014

Norwegian transmission system operator, Statnett, has a network comprising more than 10,000 km of overhead lines operating at from 132 kV to 420 kV. For several years now, this TSO has conducted research at a special WAP test facility located near Oslo, where different insulator options, a weather station and special monitoring equipment have been installed, including web cameras and ice load monitors. Recently, the test station has also been used to collect information about comparative 'visibility' of different insulators since this has become an increasingly important parameter in overhead line design in Norway and indeed across Europe. This article, conducted by Sonja Berlijn of Statnett, Igor Gutman of STRI and Irene Gu of the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, presents novel applications of automatic analysis used in high voltage engineering. These include detecting and measuring snow/ice coverage on insulators, estimating insulator swing angles and computing objective values of how different insulator strings stand out against specific backgrounds.