# Powerline Tracking with Event Cameras

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.00515 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.00515/

## Key facts

- Cited by 10 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 1 Aug 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [PL-EVIO: Robust Monocular Event-based Visual Inertial Odometry with Point and Line Features](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.12160/) (2022)
- [Microsaccade-inspired Event Camera for Robotics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.17769/) (2024)
- [Detecting Line Segments in Motion-blurred Images with Events](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.07365/) (2022)
- [Hardware, Algorithms, and Applications of the Neuromorphic Vision Sensor: a Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.08588/) (2025)
- [Lattice-allocated Real-time Line Segment Feature Detection and Tracking Using Only an Event-based Camera](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.06829/) (2025)
- [EDeNN: Event Decay Neural Networks for low latency vision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.04362/) (2022)
- [GraphEnet: Event-driven Human Pose Estimation with a Graph Neural Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.07990/) (2025)
- [A Neuromorphic Approach to Obstacle Avoidance in Robot Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.05858/) (2024)
- [RoEL: Robust Event-based 3D Line Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.18258/) (2026)
- [MotionDLO: Hybrid Event- and Frame-Based Tracking of Deformable Linear Objects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.22398/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Autonomous inspection of powerlines with quadrotors is challenging. Flights require persistent perception to keep a close look at the lines. We propose a method that uses event cameras to robustly track powerlines. Event cameras are inherently robust to motion blur, have low latency, and high dynamic range. Such properties are advantageous for autonomous inspection of powerlines with drones, where fast motions and challenging illumination conditions are ordinary. Our method identifies lines in the stream of events by detecting planes in the spatio-temporal signal, and tracks them through time. The implementation runs onboard and is capable of detecting multiple distinct lines in real time with rates of up to 320 thousand events per second. The performance is evaluated in real-world flights along a powerline. The tracker is able to persistently track the powerlines, with a mean lifetime of the line 10× longer than existing approaches.