Efficiency Optimization of the Gear Reducer of an Overhead Power Line Inspection Robot

Electrical utility companies regularly inspect their power line networks to guarantee efficiency and reliability in energy transmission and distribution. However, the power lines inspection processes are expensive and time demanding, requiring robotized solutions to become feasible. A key issue in developing power line inspection robots is their energy efficiency, as they are required to operate for as long as possible. This work aims to reduce an inspection robot’s energy consumption by optimizing the mechanical efficiency of its gear reducer’s traction motor. The robot’s gear reducer is a planetary gear train whose efficiency is modeled via Davies’ method. The planetary gear train efficiency is optimized considering volume, size, and allowable stress constraints. The impact of the performance of the original and the optimized gearboxes in the batteries’ final SOC is evaluated, and it is verified that the gearbox efficiency slightly impacts the robot’s consumption.