Honeywell has announced that its UAS-based inspection service helped utility customer Ozarks Electric Cooperative inspect more than 100 miles of power lines and provide actionable data in just five days.
When performed on foot, it takes approximately two weeks with up to 15 employees to inspect the same distance. It only takes one day by helicopter, but this method of performing inspections comes with a higher safety risk and cost, as well as insufficient data quality.
Inspection
Inspection
Xcel Energy makes history with BVLOS UAS flights
Xcel Energy has become the first U.S. utility company to fly UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) for ongoing inspections.
The BVLOS flights are a part of Xcel Energy's inspections of transmission lines near Denver.
“Today’s flight takes us a step closer to fully integrating unmanned aircraft into our operations,” says Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO, Xcel Energy.
“This innovative technology is revolutionizing our work by improving the safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness of maintaining and protecting the grid for our customers.”
Gecko Robotics seeks to save lives at power plants with its wall-climbing robots
Via TechCrunch, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Gecko Robotics, which is developing wall-climbing robots to help save lives at power plants in the United States, has announced that it has secured $7 million from a group that includes Founders Fund, Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban, and Y Combinator.
Gecko Robotics’ robots are considered “an important part of ensuring safety in industrial and power plant facilities,” being that they can go ahead of humans to check for potential hazards.
Industrial SkyWorks launches BlueVu for digital inspections from drone-data
Industrial SkyWorks has launched BlueVu for digital inspections from drone-data.
According to Industrial SkyWorks, BlueVu software eliminates the need for engineers and UAS pilots to examine thousands of images, while also providing clear, accurate, professional looking reports.
Some of BlueVu’s other key capabilities include project management function support, efficient tracking and control of inspection workflows, and anomaly identification and measurement.
Cyberhawk completes oil tanker hull survey using UAS
Cyberhawk has announced that it has successfully completed the first full American Bureau for Shipping (ABS) Intermediate Hull Survey 4 on an oil tanker using UAS.
While at a shipyard in Singapore, Cyberhawk performed full class inspection across 19 tanks onboard an oil tanker, which included 12 Cargo Oil Tanks, two slop tanks and five ballast tanks.
“UAVs and robotics in general have taken inspection to a new level thanks to the time, cost and safety benefits being proven every day,” explains Chris Fleming, CEO at Cyberhawk. “However, digitizing the data captured is a transformational step for the asset management industry.”
From Unmanned Systems magazine: AUTODESK USES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO BENEFIT THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
As potentially lucrative as the construction industry is, it is fraught with challenges. No two sites and projects are alike. Labor forces almost assuredly will vary from job to job. Heavy equipment is constantly in motion, posing potential dangers that must be recognized before accidents happen.
The advent of unmanned aircraft systems in recent years has helped construction site managers stay ahead of potential pitfalls.
ULC Robotics and Los Gatos Research showcase UAS technology during Mobile Methane Monitoring Challenge
While participating in the Mobile Methane Monitoring Challenge, ULC Robotics and Los Gatos Research (LGR) deployed their patented UAS-based sensor to identify the source of controlled methane leaks.
Data collected during the challenge by the UAS and sensor will be compared to eleven other ground- and aerial-based technologies.
“Leak surveys are traditionally carried out by vehicle or by foot, which can be inefficient and dangerous to utility workers,” says Michael Passaretti, UAV Program Manager at ULC Robotics.
Robotics & AI Summit
The Robotics & AI Summit at LiveWorx, June 18-19, is produced by Robotics Business Review, a market leading source for “actionable business intelligence” for the global robotics, automation and artificial intelligence market.
The Robotics & AI Summit at LiveWorx is a two day conference for company executives, engineers, and investors from around the world seeking expert advice and new partners for developing, selling, purchasing, and investing in robotics, AI, and machine learning technologies. This one-of-a-kind manufacturing business summit identifies the market forces driving change and the business strategies organizations need to adopt to sustain or regain competitiveness as digital automation revolutionizes all industry sectors of manufacturing.
CPS Energy using UAS technology to perform routine inspections of overhead infrastructure
San Antonio’s CPS Energy has announced that it is now utilizing UAS technology to perform routine inspections of overhead infrastructure in a “safer and more efficient way.”
This announcement comes a year after the energy company tested using this technology to inspect transmission towers and associated high voltage lines in May 2017. Through this testing, CPS Energy found that UAS inspections of 50 transmission line towers were completed in just two and a half days, which is a far cry shorter than the nearly two weeks it would have taken to complete these inspections using conventional methods.
Energy Drone Coalition Summit
The Energy Drone Summit is a forum dedicated to launching, growing and scaling enterprise UAV/Robotics operations in energy companies worldwide by bringing together the major rapidly growing segments within the UAV/AUV/Robotics ecosystem, with the energy industrial complex asset owners and end users.
This is the only event exclusively focused on the business and technology of UAVs/Robotics – aerial, ground/surface & subsea in energy operations.
You can be a part of the largest event in the world where the key challenges & solutions for how the industry is currently operating UAVs/Robotics successfully in the Oil & Gas, Power, Maritime, Wind/Solar, Chemical, Refining, Petrochemical, Energy Engineering & Construction markets.