Protocol for contactless electric current sensing, processing, and storage using a drone-integrable sensor.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Power Systems
• Robotics

Background:

• Overhead transmission lines are critical infrastructure requiring continuous monitoring.
• Accurate measurement of electric current is essential for grid stability and fault detection.
• Existing methods for current measurement can be intrusive or limited in scope.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a protocol for a contactless, drone-mounted current sensor system.
• To detail the design, fabrication, and programming of the sensor and data processing unit.
• To enable efficient and accurate measurement of electric current norms in overhead transmission lines.

Main Methods:

• Development of a drone-mounted sensor with a custom-designed printed circuit board (PCB).
• Programming of an Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller for data acquisition and processing.
• Integration of MATLAB scripts for real-time graphical visualization of current data.

Main Results:

• The developed protocol enables contactless measurement of electric current.
• Laboratory tests demonstrated high accuracy, achieving up to 98.3% under high-distortion conditions.
• The system provides efficient data interpretation through graphical visualization.

Conclusions:

• The drone-mounted current sensor protocol offers a viable solution for monitoring overhead transmission lines.
• This technology enhances the safety and efficiency of power grid management.
• The protocol facilitates accurate, real-time current measurements in challenging environments.