Drone inspections replace the need for unaffordable helicopters, human riggers or excessive work hours to complete a thorough inspection. Pilots harness drone capabilities to offer an effective and inexpensive inspection that can cover the length of assets or projects, enter hard to reach areas and provide complete transparency into its condition.
Power lines inspection
It’s critical for power lines to be inspected, but traditional methods of inspection via helicopter are highly impractical and cost-ineffective. Helicopters are used for their ability to hover above power lines and run the length of extensive assets. But they come with limitations in their mobility and size rendering them insufficient for the task.
Drone’s power line inspections are a fraction of the traditional cost, and yet, they provide a much more robust, detailed and accurate inspection. Drones can perform measurements of power lines at various angles more accurately, making for drone inspection applications that translate into better analyses. Their measurements can catalyse thermal testing, structural integrity inspection and corona discharge analysis while minimising human risk.
Using drones to inspect power lines allows you to:
- Assess corrosion and wear of electrical wires through close video footage
- Measure the consumption of the electrical wires using a thermal camera
- Map power line networks and build 3D models of the line and its surroundings to optimise monitoring and maintenance
- Detect vegetation growing too close to the power lines before it impacts the system
- Detect corona discharges using specialised cameras to improve the efficiency of the line
- Assist power line stringing operations by pulling lead lines
Power line stringing
Using drones to pull lead lines combines the benefits of the manual stringing of power lines to the benefits of using helicopters to do the job.
Benefits compared to stringing by linemen
Reduces human risk
Can be used in inaccessible areas
Reduces time and cost
Benefits compared to helicopter stringing
Reduce human risk
Reduces cost
More resilient method
Infrastructure and asset inspections
Drones are an ideal method of inspecting many various infrastructure assets and in-progress projects because of their dynamics and agility while reducing risk, danger, time and cost. They can record high-definition video through cameras throughout the inspection as well as calculate measurements critical to evaluating infrastructure.
Some examples of inspections where drones can facilitate inspection are:
- Wind turbines: With increasingly more wind turbines to inspect, drones are an ideal method to accurately and efficiently inspect their condition and highlight any required maintenance.
- Long-length construction projects like roads and railway infrastructure projects.
- Tall assets such as antennas, towers and buildings: The height of these assets can be impossible to reach by humans, while drones can easily inspect the full surface of these assets.
- Dams and hydropower stations: Drones can eliminate the need for expensive scaffolding to inspect these structures. They can inspect the entire asset and highlight any problem areas that require a more in-depth analysis.
- Boilers, pipers and corridors: Drones can enter small and enclosed channels with less risk to gain accurate visibility into hard to reach locations.
- Nuclear reactors: Drones can safely inspect nuclear reactors and control the camera with precision and speed.