Many of these result in delays or cancellations. There are around 500 reported “vegetation events” on the railways of Great Britain every year. There are over six million trees growing on the estate owned by Network Rail and a further seven million on private land adjacent to UK railways. Leaves on the line – drones to monitor line-side vegetation These danger hotspots can be overflown by drones to negate the need for personnel to enter them.ĭrones have also been used to wire voltage lines from one pylon to another which is safer and faster than the usual methods of using a helicopter or manually performing the task with humans and elevating platforms. There are sections of railway lines which simply do not offer safe refuge points for maintenance and inspecting staff. Drones are particularly useful for inspecting power lines along the route of a railway where the infrastructure is difficult to access, for example where there are long bridges or the track is separated from road access by rivers or gullies. UAVs are being used to identify broken insulators, identify faults in the wires and check the condition of pylons. RGB and thermal sensors mounted on a drone flying along the route of the power lines perform a precise analysis and diagnosis to identify potential defects and faults. Regular maintenance is needed to ensure this does not happen. That can shut down entire sections of the rail network and impact upon travellers, commuters and the wider economy. Damages on the power lines can lead to power outages. The distribution and transmission of electricity through overhead power lines requires a continuous flow. The future of the ‘railbot in the sky’ offers opportunities which could see the biggest revolution on the tracks since Thomas the Tank Engine learned to talk.ĭanger, danger – drones for inspecting high-voltage electrical linesĭrones are already being used to perform inspections of high-voltage electrical lines. Track inspections, spotting trespassers, accident investigation and monitoring vegetation by the trackside – think “leaves on the line” – could be a thing of the past – these are just some of the ways in which Network Rail and others like them around the world are already harnessing drone technology.īut railway applications for drones extend far beyond aerial inspection, surveying and security. Maximising the potential of the rail network to bring added value.Improved safety for railway personnel in the inspection of assets, particularly in remote or dangerous locations.Increased frequency and level of detail of data collection.The core benefits of using UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) on the rail networks of the UK and the world are: If you would like to explore the option of adding drones to your business you can speak to one of our experts here. 2020 Could see the rise of the railway drone.ĭrones have the potential help railway operators save billions and perform dangerous tasks usually undertaken by humans. But the benefits could yet extend so much further. More complicated designs, he says, 'are on the horizon.How drones are transforming the railways of the worldĪ growing flock of drones are being deployed by rail networks around the globe to perform inspections of infrastructure, ensure safety and security and to produce contour maps of areas where new lines are proposed. 'We experimented a little with flapping robots,' Moore notes, but adds that researchers decided to keep things simple. 'If we can measure the wind, we can use the wind to improve the mission duration of our vehicle,' he says.

The team is also looking at biomimetic features, such as hair-like sensors running along the wings of the UAV to measure airflow. For example, the lab will need to partner with mechanical design experts to develop a complex grasping mechanism. In the meantime, there are a few outstanding issues to address. The MIT project, which is funded by the Office of Naval Research, Air Force Research Laboratory, and DARPA, is set to wrap up this summer. Finally, the drone could harvest energy from the electrical coronas formed by very-high-voltage lines. Alternately, a UAV could pierce the line and draw current directly from it. First, there is inductive coupling, whereby the drone's claws form a transformer around the electrical line. He does, however, outline three basic options. Moore won't go into great detail about the recharging process because the MIT team has yet to patent its solution. However, the magnetometer has a range of only four meters total, so a real UAV operating in the field would need to depend on GPS points gleaned from satellite imagery reach the general vicinity of a power line. In these tests, the small drone was only 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) from the power lines when launched.

Drone deploy near power lines