Power Line Maintenance Inspection

User Interface

One of critical factors for successful inspections inside a helicopter is the user interface. The inspection interface is designed according to local habits, regulations and technical jargon. Even one single operator may require different interfaces to adapt to different inspection protocols, territories or voltage levels.

The inspection interface is a graphical user interface used to interact with sensor data in real time and record inspection annotations.

A Tablet PC is recommended to run the Flight Interface since the touch screen facilitates user input in airborne missions.

It is supported on a HTTP architecture that supports multiple simultaneous instances so that each crew member focus on a different type of inspection.

Each inspection has its own set of markers to describe issues such as tower number, hot spots, broken insulators or tower corrosion; buttons change according to context. The software records and localises the occurrence with GPS and time references.

The user interface may also be used to review recorded data and to navigate towards landmarks or waypoints. Depending on clients' specifications, data may be recorded in a relational databases or in files. Reports are generated in a variety of formats, such as PDF, HTML or SQL.

The system can also be loaded with geographically referenced grid information such as tower locations, line characteristics. This information can be used for navigation and assist in identifying and locating assets in the field during inspection missions.