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A mobile robot to be applied in high-voltage power lines

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Abstract

Many theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out in order to develop autonomous robots to travel along telecommunication lines and power transmission lines to perform inspection and/or repair work. These robots can improve the efficiency, reduce labor and are expected to reduce the risks of accident of maintenance personnel. In spite of theoretical researches and technological developments of robotic systems, problems related to stability, controllability, ability to transpose/surmounting obstacles and autonomy still exist. Thus, this paper presents a mobile robot that moves suspended on electric power lines which can surmount different types of obstacles, placed at any position on cable. Firstly is presented a review of some existing robots. After, the kinematics model of the mobile robot and a methodology for spherical obstacle surmounting are presented. Finally, numerical and experimental results are presented to validate the proposed model.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to CNPq, CAPES and FAPEMIG for the partial financing support of this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Uberlândia School of Mechanical Engineering, Uberlândia, MG, 38400-902, Brazil

    Rogério Sales Gonçalves & João Carlos Mendes Carvalho

Authors
  1. Rogério Sales Gonçalves
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  2. João Carlos Mendes Carvalho
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Correspondence to Rogério Sales Gonçalves.

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Technical Editor: Glauco Caurin.

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Gonçalves, R.S., Carvalho, J.C.M. A mobile robot to be applied in high-voltage power lines. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 37, 349–359 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-014-0152-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-014-0152-0

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