Team UAV Completes 500 National Grid Transformer Inspections

Description English: This file contains a picture of a 4.16kV distribution line with three distribution transformers attached, delivering power to a local load Date 3 August 2023 Source Own work Author Rsparks3 Three distribution transformers mounted on a 4.16 kV power line, supplying electricity to a local load. Illustrative image. Source: Rsparks3 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

United Kingdom – Team UAV completed drone inspections of 500 pole-mounted transformers for National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) in under two weeks, collecting imagery for its PMT Scan innovation project.

Funded through the Network Innovation Allowance, the project will test whether artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision can detect corrosion and other visible deterioration to support transformer condition assessments.

Inspections covered Cornwall, Wales and the Midlands. Team UAV standardized image capture and developed a geographic information system (GIS) database linking photographs and survey metadata to individual assets.

Softwire is developing AI models and a prototype web application to assess the imagery and inform fleet asset management.

“Pole-mounted transformers play a critical role in delivering electricity to homes and businesses, particularly in rural communities,” said Favour Eboh, NGED innovation engineer.

The initial phase is expected to finish by the end of 2026. Automated assessments have not yet been validated.

Source: TEAMUAV