Autonomous Flight of High-Endurance UAVs to Monitor Powerlines

Abstract

In this project, the authors will develop a highly efficient UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) architecture for long endurance flights. The authors propose an IoT (internet of things) model that will connect a network of drones using a 4G LTE (long-term evolution) connection. The researchers also propose the use of MEC (mobile edge computing) stations, smart GCSs (ground control stations) for battery replacement, and wireless charging via powerline magnetic field harvesting. The authors will be applying these ideas to a powerline monitoring mission profile, creating a large sensor network with computer vision capabilities to detect powerline faults and report them to the proper authorities.