SkySpecs to Demonstrate Automated Wind Turbine Inspection
Posted: 2016-9-22
SkySpecs will demonstrate their latest automated drone technology at the Wind Energy Expo/WindEurope Summit in Hamburg, on September 28th at 2:00PM EST/14:00 – the demonstration is invite-only and transportation will be provided. SkySpecs brings 20-minute, automated blade inspections to the wind industry allowing asset owners to monitor the health of their turbines faster and more precisely than with traditional methods.
SkySpecs' CEO Danny Ellis said, "We have been working with customers and partners in the wind energy industry to develop an automated inspection technology that allows wind farm owners, ISPs and OEMs to inspect their fleet in under 20 minutes with little more than the push of a button. SkySpecs is excited to have the opportunity to demonstrate this technology for key decision-makers in the industry at the Wind Energy Expo in Hamburg, Germany this September."
SkySpecs' technology solves one of the top challenges that wind farm owners face: generating timely, precise and easy-to-consume data while simultaneously keeping down-time to a minimum. SkySpecs' automated blade inspection system is:
EFFICIENT: SkySpecs' blade inspections are automated from start to finish, minimizing the need to allocate human resources to complete the job. Launching the inspection; gathering the data and receiving the reports requires minimal work and is completed in a fraction of the time it takes to conduct ground or rope inspections. Automation gives asset owners the flexibility to conduct inspections whenever they choose, whether a tower is down or wind speeds are low.
FASTER: An inspection takes around 15 minutes and the blades do not need to be stopped in a particular orientation to complete.
REPEATABLE: Precise, accurate data location provides a clear benchmark and a digital timeline of damage progression. Every image is tagged with the data that customers need to locate, annotate and make decisions about timing of blade repairs.
SkySpecs' technology produces precise, accurate data that enables quick decisions to be made about repairs and damage progression. "SkySpecs uses advanced sensors like Velodyne's Puck, a 3D laser scanner, to construct models of wind turbines in real time. Once the general shape and structure of the turbine is understood by the drone, onboard software creates a precise, repeatable, and optimized path to collect all of the pictures and other data needed for the inspection," SkySpecs' CTO Tom Brady explains.
Velodyne LiDAR provides the key 3-D sensor technology widely used in the research and development of autonomous vehicles. With continued reduction of form factor and weight, such technology is now available in the air. "Velodyne is very excited to see SkySpecs leading the Industrial Drone Revolution with the launch of an innovative inspection solution that greatly improves work safety and efficiency for the wind industry", Harris Wang, Strategic Markets Director, VELODYNE LiDAR.
SkySpecs will also be exhibiting their technology at the WindEurope Expo and can be found in Hall A4, Booth 134.3. For more information about SkySpecs or the demonstration in Hamburg, contact info@skyspecs.com.
ABOUT SKYSPECS: SkySpecs enables wind farm owners, ISPs and OEMs to easily monitor and track the health of their wind turbines with a 20-minute automated robotic inspection. The single push of a button launches a drone, which surveys all sides of three blades, collecting high-resolution images that identify cracks, erosion, lightening strikes and other anomalies. Data is immediately sent to a web portal for viewing, annotating, and reporting. SkySpecs automates and streamlines the inspection process from the moment the inspection is scheduled to the time the repair crew is hired. SkySpecs is a proud member of AWEA, WindEurope and the National Commercial Drone Coalition.
SkySpecs' CEO Danny Ellis said, "We have been working with customers and partners in the wind energy industry to develop an automated inspection technology that allows wind farm owners, ISPs and OEMs to inspect their fleet in under 20 minutes with little more than the push of a button. SkySpecs is excited to have the opportunity to demonstrate this technology for key decision-makers in the industry at the Wind Energy Expo in Hamburg, Germany this September."
SkySpecs' technology solves one of the top challenges that wind farm owners face: generating timely, precise and easy-to-consume data while simultaneously keeping down-time to a minimum. SkySpecs' automated blade inspection system is:
EFFICIENT: SkySpecs' blade inspections are automated from start to finish, minimizing the need to allocate human resources to complete the job. Launching the inspection; gathering the data and receiving the reports requires minimal work and is completed in a fraction of the time it takes to conduct ground or rope inspections. Automation gives asset owners the flexibility to conduct inspections whenever they choose, whether a tower is down or wind speeds are low.
FASTER: An inspection takes around 15 minutes and the blades do not need to be stopped in a particular orientation to complete.
REPEATABLE: Precise, accurate data location provides a clear benchmark and a digital timeline of damage progression. Every image is tagged with the data that customers need to locate, annotate and make decisions about timing of blade repairs.
SkySpecs' technology produces precise, accurate data that enables quick decisions to be made about repairs and damage progression. "SkySpecs uses advanced sensors like Velodyne's Puck, a 3D laser scanner, to construct models of wind turbines in real time. Once the general shape and structure of the turbine is understood by the drone, onboard software creates a precise, repeatable, and optimized path to collect all of the pictures and other data needed for the inspection," SkySpecs' CTO Tom Brady explains.
Velodyne LiDAR provides the key 3-D sensor technology widely used in the research and development of autonomous vehicles. With continued reduction of form factor and weight, such technology is now available in the air. "Velodyne is very excited to see SkySpecs leading the Industrial Drone Revolution with the launch of an innovative inspection solution that greatly improves work safety and efficiency for the wind industry", Harris Wang, Strategic Markets Director, VELODYNE LiDAR.
SkySpecs will also be exhibiting their technology at the WindEurope Expo and can be found in Hall A4, Booth 134.3. For more information about SkySpecs or the demonstration in Hamburg, contact info@skyspecs.com.
ABOUT SKYSPECS: SkySpecs enables wind farm owners, ISPs and OEMs to easily monitor and track the health of their wind turbines with a 20-minute automated robotic inspection. The single push of a button launches a drone, which surveys all sides of three blades, collecting high-resolution images that identify cracks, erosion, lightening strikes and other anomalies. Data is immediately sent to a web portal for viewing, annotating, and reporting. SkySpecs automates and streamlines the inspection process from the moment the inspection is scheduled to the time the repair crew is hired. SkySpecs is a proud member of AWEA, WindEurope and the National Commercial Drone Coalition.
