Corridor Mapping - Power Lines
Corridor Mapping - Power Lines
The use of laser scanning technology by the electric transmission and distribution industry is gaining in momentum for the mapping, documenting and monitoring of their networks. Installed in a helicopter flying at low speed over the corridor at 400 m above ground, the Trimble Harrier system records not only the ground height and surface, but also the coordinates of the elements of the overhead power lines. The route taken by the power lines, the position of the towers, the terrain, vegetation and other objects in the corridor are scanned in the course of a single flight line.
3D view of a point cloud of a power line corridor
© Trimble Germany GmbH, Germany
|
|
The elevation model and true orthophoto images serve as the basic data for:
- Mapping, documenting and monitoring corridors including the elements of the overhead power lines and objects in the corridor;
- Planning, constructing and maintaining the network;
- Vectorizing the overhead power lines for use in CAD applications;
- Determining the center points of towers, suspension points, and sag of the cables;
- Determining distances between vegetation and power lines; and
- Management in a power line information system.
Integrated in a GIS, the distances between vegetation and power lines can be determined, serving as the basis for a vegetation management program. The high-resolution RGB and CIR true orthophoto images assist in the evaluation of vegetation in the corridor.
Display of vegetation-to-power line distances in ArcGIS
© PbS, Germany
|
Display of vegetation control stages in ArcGIS
© PbS, Germany
|
For overhead power line, pipeline, road and rail alignment route planning, the potential corridors can be accurately recorded and the terrain elevation determined. This imaging data permits optimizing routes, creating sections, aligning plot boundaries and hence cost-effective planning and analysis.
Route planning on outskirts of Ravensburg, RGB (left) and CIR (right)
© Municipality of Ravensburg, Germany