Dronevolt LINEDRONE - Surveillance Drone

Precision measurement sensors
Power line inspection sensors for accurate, non-intrusive analysis of line health. Exclusive technology developed by Hydro-Québec

Hybrid - flying and rolling
Allowing inspection over long distances while consuming little energy, the LineDrone lands on single-conductor power lines and then, once the propellers have stopped, moves along the conductor thanks to a motorised rolling system.

Robust
The drone operates on live lines, immunised to withstand the electromagnetic fields of 120 to 315 kV transmission lines up to 2000 A.

Pilot assistance
The integration of LIDAR sensors and the development of a dedicated software interface mean that the system is extremely stable and easy to operate, particularly during critical landing/take-off phases.

Connectivity
The system enables communication over a distance of more than 1km, despite the electromagnetic environment disrupted by high-voltage lines.

Easy to deploy
The system has been designed and tested with Hydro-Québec`s operational teams to ensure maximum speed of deployment and operational efficiency.

With its sensors developed by Hydro-Québec’s research centre, the LineDrone takes highly accurate measurements on single-conductor power lines while they are in service.

The benefits of this solution:

• The precise information obtained via LineDrone and the LineOhm sensor is an essential input to uprating the capacity of power lines, which enables utilities to safely transmit more energy through the existing assets.
• Eliminates line de-energisation and network operating constraints
• Limits human risk
• Reduces inspection and team deployment costs
• Minimises greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, eliminating a helicopter represents a reduction in greenhouse gases of one to two tonnes of CO2 per day of operation.

The LineDrone is a dedicated system for inspecting high-voltage power lines, developed by Drone Volt in partnership with Hydro-Québec.

Its main features are:

• Mechanical and functional integration of precision measurement probes for non-intrusive inspection of high-voltage lines.
• Protective cage and mechanical design for contact with transmission lines from 120 to 315 kV, up to 2000 A, while ensuring the system’s immunity to the various electromagnetic disturbances generated by high-voltage lines.
• Landing on overhead conductors and moving on single-conductor lines thanks to a motorised rolling system.
• Drone with redundant 8-motor architecture, offering the capacity to safely carry measurement probes weighing up to 2kg.
• Communication system resistant to electromagnetic fields disturbed by high voltage.
• Rapid deployment capacity for optimised operational results.

Thanks to two types of on-board sensors, developed by Nucleom and Hydro-Québec, the LineDrone can carry out a range of non-destructive inspection tasks, while documenting the results of analyses with a high degree of accuracy.

LineOhm: Hydro-Québec’s patented technology, enables the electrical resistance of compressed joint sleeves on electrical conductors to be assessed non-destructively. Inspections using LineOhm provide a quality of measurement that enables the integrity and useful life of equipment to be assessed. This is essential data, enabling programmed maintenance operations on lines to be planned as accurately as possible.

LineCore: provides a non-destructive method for under-voltage corrosion assessment and early detection of zinc layer degradation. The LineCore sensor checks and measures the thickness of the residual galvanic protection.