Award
2020 NSF CAREER Award Winner
Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Awarded Project
Toward a Self-Powered Autonomous Robot for Intelligent Power Lines Vibration Control and Monitoring
Oumar Barry will conduct research to engender a self-powered autonomous robot to prevent electric power line defects. To realize such a robot, Barry will construct a multiphysics model to study interactions between a mobile robot, wind forces, and a vibrating cable. He will create an adaptive electromagnetic energy harvester to power the robot and develop a wind-induced vibration control framework to optimize vibration suppression. Barry will also establish a testbed to assess the robot’s performance. He believes the robot will enable breakthroughs at the interface of energy harvesting, fluid-structure interactions, and vibration control.
What path did you take to get to this point in your research and career?
My career started at Hydro One Inc., the largest power line company in Canada, where I used to design and inspect transmission lines and towers. I was also their technical authority for all wind-induced vibration problems. The idea of my CAREER grant is a direct result of some of the problems I saw when I was working at Hydro One.
I noticed the following problems: One, there are no robust devices to successfully control wind-induced vibrations of power lines, and two, most power line inspection techniques, such as foot patrol or helicopter-assisted inspection, are laborious, expensive, and dangerous to the maintenance personnel. Inspection robots are starting to be seen, but they are bulky, heavy, have a short run time, and are energy inefficient and expensive.
To overcome these shortcomings, I’ve proposed a multifunctional, self-powered autonomous robot for intelligent vibration control and inspection of power lines. But to build this robot, the multiphysics involved need to be fully understood, which is really what my CAREER proposal is all about.
What impact do you hope your research will have?
The findings of this CAREER project will enable smarter, safer, and more resilient power grids at minimal environmental and economic costs. It will also help prevent failures of other crucial engineering structures, such suspension bridges, guyed lattice towers, wind turbines, and suspended roofs. The proposed energy harvesting techniques to power the robot and associated sensors will not only make significant contributions in smart grids, but also in other cyber-physical systems, such as Infrastructural-internet of things and self-driving cars.
What do you find most interesting about your field of engineering?
The broad and interdisciplinary nature of mechanical engineering and the challenges that come with this field of engineering are what motivate me to wake up at 4 a.m. every day.
If you had one piece of advice to give students that aspire to pursue research and are just starting their journey, what would you share with them?
You should find a research area that you really enjoy and focus on that. If you don’t like it, don’t even try. I believe the most successful researchers are addicted to what they do.