Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.
Issue link: https://insideunmanned.epubxp.com/i/668560
15 unmanned systems inside April/May 2016 ENGINEERING. PRACTICE. POLICY. Photos courtesy of Left: ING Robotic Aviation, Right: Buffalo Gap Wind Farm strikes. "Before drones we relied on technicians to spot damage from the ground, but the blades are pretty high up there. Some damage could be as small as 3 or 4 inches in length and half an inch in diameter. That's really difficult to see from the ground. With a drone, there's a 25 megapixel camera 10 feet away from the blade taking high-quality photos." The team at Buffalo Gap only planned to in- spect a small percentage of its 295 turbines that first year, Calcote said, but because the initial inspections identified a lot of lightning damage at one of their three Texas sites, they decided to inspect every turbine there. The goal each year is to inspect two thirds of the turbines at every site, a task UAS makes much easier to achieve. Like Buffalo Gap, many other wind farms across the globe are turning to UAS to perform these critical inspections. As of early 2015, there were about 270,000 wind turbines operating in the world, according to Navigant Research, with a total of more than 800,000 blades that need assessment. With cumulative global rev- enue for wind turbine UAS sales and inspection THE WIND NOT JUST FOR WIND TURBINES Last year, AES Wind Generation's Buffalo Gap Wind Farm not only worked with AAIR to inspect their wind turbine via UAS, they also asked the company to inspect their 18 miles of transmission line—a project they plan to complete again this year. Typically, they'd have to perform this inspection via a helicopter, which might be a little faster than UAS but is much more costly, farm site planner Justin Calcote said. As with wind turbines, ground based inspections are also an option, but take about 5 or 6 weeks to complete. The UAS fnished the work in two weeks, inspecting three utility poles from one position. Ground inspectors have to drive to every pole to look for missing or damaged hardware. "Our lines run through canyons and some pretty rough terrain, so it takes a long time to get them all inspected from the ground," Calcote said. "If we lose a line then we lose every turbine we have until we can get it repaired. It's really critical to have your transmission line maintained." The Falcon 8 performing the transmission inspection for Buffalo Gap Wind Farm.