Path Planning Algorithm For Substation Inspection Robot

As an important part of the power system,the stable operation of the substation not only determines the stable supply of local power resources but also prevents high economic losses caused by the failure of the substation,so the inspection of the substation was crucial.Common substation inspection methods include manual inspection,drone inspection and robot inspection.But whether manual or drone inspection method,there are still obvious weaknesses.The manual inspection method is very labor-intensive,mainly relying on work experience to determine the working state of power equipment,easy to cause errors in judgment.The drone inspection requires an all-round scan of the substation,and the information uploaded to the server through the cloud can easily lead to problems not being solved in time.In contrast,the substation inspection robot was the best choice to undertake this task.As one of the core technologies of the substation inspection robot,the path planning algorithm was still not unanimously recognized as the best path planning algorithm,although there are more studies.Therefore,it was necessary and meaningful to carry out research topics on the currently used path planning algorithms.First,according to the actual environment in the substation and the characteristics of the substation inspection robot,the raster method of map building and the laser navigation applicable to the mixed interference such as electromagnetic field in the substation were selected.To verify the application effect of the path planning algorithm,a multi-U map was designed for simulation testing in the built substation map environment model.Secondly,the commonly used path planning algorithms are divided into global path planning algorithm and local path planning algorithm,and the principles are introduced and the advantages and disadvantages are analyzed.Then,the global path planning algorithm and the local path planning algorithm mentioned above were loaded into the previously established map environment model for simulation tests.(1)The main two improvements were the heuristic function of A* algorithm and the improved path trajectory.The implementation results show that the path finding time of the substation inspection robot in the constructed substation map model and U-shaped obstacle model was reduced by 2.104% and 1.984%,respectively;the path planned by the inspection robot in the constructed map model was reduced by one inflection point,which reduces the probability of the substation inspection robot turning over sharply.(2)Simulation analysis and comparison of DWA algorithm,genetic algorithm and artificial potential field method were carried out,and DWA algorithm was finally selected as the local path planning algorithm of substation inspection robot.In order to better adapt to the substation environment,the traditional DWA algorithm was mainly improved in two aspects: the introduction of obstacle expansion strategy and the evaluation function,which solves the problems of too close distance between the planned path and the obstacles and the unstable driving of the substation inspection robot.Finally,the improved A* algorithm and the DWA algorithm were mixed and applied to the experimental platform of the substation inspection robot as a path planning algorithm.The substation map environment model was simulated and tested in the laboratory.After testing,it was verified that the substation inspection robot achieves good practical results with the application of the hybrid path planning algorithm.