EECNet: An Efficient Edge Computing Network for Transmission Line Ice Thickness Recognition

The recognition of ice thickness on transmission lines serves as a prerequisite for controlling de-icing robots to carry out precise de-icing operations. To address the issue that existing edge computing terminals fail to meet the demands of ice thickness recognition algorithms, this paper introduces an Efficient Edge Computing Network (EECNet) specifically designed for identifying ice thickness on transmission lines. Firstly, pruning is applied to the Efficient Neural Network (ENet), removing redundant components within the encoder to decrease both the computational complexity and the number of parameters in the model. Secondly, a Dilated Asymmetric Bottleneck Module (DABM) is proposed. By integrating different types of convolutions, this module effectively strengthens the model’s capability to extract features from ice-covered transmission lines. Then, an Efficient Partial Conv Module (EPCM) is designed, introducing an adaptive partial convolution selection mechanism that innovatively combines attention mechanisms with partial convolutions. This design enhances the model’s ability to select important feature channels. The method involves segmenting ice-covered images to obtain iced regions and then calculating the ice thickness using the iced area and known cable parameters. Experimental validation on an ice-covered transmission line dataset shows that EECNet achieves a segmentation accuracy of 92.7% in terms of the Mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) and an F1-Score of 96.2%, with an ice thickness recognition error below 3.4%. Compared to ENet, the model’s parameter count is reduced by 41.7%, and the detection speed on OrangePi 5 Pro is improved by 27.3%. After INT8 quantization, the detection speed is increased by 26.3%. These results demonstrate that EECNet not only enhances the recognition speed on edge equipment but also maintains high-precision ice thickness recognition.