Insulator defect detection is of great significance to ensure the normal operation of power transmission and distribution networks. In response to the problems of low speed, low accuracy, and difficulty in deploying to embedded terminals in existing insulator defect detection, this paper proposes a lightweight insulator defect detection model based on an improved YOLOv5s, named LiteYOLO-ID. Firstly, to significantly reduce the model parameters while maintaining detection accuracy, we design a new lightweight convolution module called EGC (ECA-GhostNet-C2f). Secondly, based on the EGC module, we construct the EGC-CSPGhostNet backbone network, which optimizes the feature extraction process and achieves model compression. Additionally, we design a lightweight neck network, EGC-PANet, to further reduce the parameter count and achieve efficient feature fusion. Experimental results show that on the IDID-Plus dataset, compared to the original YOLOv5s model, not only does LiteYOLO-ID reduce the model parameters by 47.13%, but it also improves the mAP(0.5) by 1%. Furthermore, the generalization of the model is validated on the Pascal VOC dataset and the SFID dataset. Importantly, after TensorRT optimization, the inference speed of the LiteYOLO-ID algorithm on the Jetson TX2 NX reaches 20.2 FPS, meeting the real-time detection requirements of insulator defects. Our code, weight models, and datasets can be obtained at the following URL: https://github.com/LuYang-2023/Insulator-defect-detection.

With the continuous development and construction of new power systems, using drones to inspect the condition of transmission line insulators has become an inevitable trend. To facilitate the deployment of drone hardware equipment, this paper proposes IDD-YOLO (Insulator Defect Detection-YOLO), a lightweight insulator defect detection model. Initially, the backbone network of IDD-YOLO employs GhostNet for feature extraction. However, due to the limited feature extraction capability of GhostNet, we designed a lightweight attention mechanism called LCSA (Lightweight Channel-Spatial Attention), which is combined with GhostNet to capture features more comprehensively. Secondly, the neck network of IDD-YOLO utilizes PANet for feature transformation and introduces GSConv and C3Ghost convolution modules to reduce redundant parameters and lighten the network. The head network employs the YOLO detection head, incorporating the EIOU loss function and Mish activation function to optimize the speed and accuracy of insulator defect detection. Finally, the model is optimized using TensorRT and deployed on the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 NX mobile platform to test the actual inference speed of the model. The experimental results demonstrate that the model exhibits outstanding performance on both the proprietary ID-2024 insulator defect dataset and the public SFID insulator dataset. After optimization with TensorRT, the actual inference speed of the IDD-YOLO model reached 20.83 frames per second (FPS), meeting the demands for accurate and real-time inspection of insulator defects by drones.

In order to achieve real-time detection of insulator defects in transmission lines, this paper proposes an improved insulator defect detection algorithm based on the YOLOv5s model, named IDD-YOLOv5. Firstly, to enhance the detection speed and reduce the model size, we introduce the GhostConv module and C3Ghost module into the backbone network. Secondly, the neck network employs a combination of C3Ghost and GSConv to further reduce the model’s parameter count, combined with the adaptive upsampling operator CARAFE to improve model accuracy. Finally, we adopt the EIOU loss function to accelerate model convergence and enhance detection precision. Experimental results show that IDD-YOLOv5 improves the mAP@0.5 by 2.5% over the original YOLOv5s, with accuracy and recall also increasing by 1.9% and 2.5%, respectively, while reducing parameters by 45.54%. Therefore, this improved model can rapidly and accurately detect insulator defects, aiding in the stable operation of electrical equipment. The related code, dataset, and model can be accessed through the following link: https://github.com/LuYang-2023/ICMA2024.git.