Review of Aerial Vehicle Technology for Transmission Line Inspection in Indonesia

Indonesia, which is represented by PLN as a state-owned electric utility company, has a transmission line network with a total length of 52,605 km of the circuit. The transmission line network required periodic inspection to ensure its component performs according to the initial design. For an extensive network which has hundred or thousand transmission line segment, efficient inspection method is vital due to limited availability of the resource and most its transmission line situated on rough terrain. An alternative inspection method is needed to overcome this issue. Nowadays, transmission line inspection using aerial vehicles become an alternative option. Before implementing this technology in the transmission line in Indonesia, an in-depth evaluation should be performed to verify the suitable choice. In this paper, a comparison between aerial vehicle type for several parameters is presented to provide a better perspective for the appropriate technology in Indonesia. The result of the evaluation showed that the option of photogrammetry as a sensor carried by multirotor is the most suitable solution for transmission line corridor mapping.