Conventional inspection and maintenance methods tend to be time-consuming and are often fraught with risk.
With the BLADESCAPE-approach, difficult-to-access areas or plants that are spread over a wide area can be inspected with high efficiency without risk to personnel. The information collected is recorded live, securely documented and analysed in a semi-automated process. Our motto is ‘SEE TO FORESEE’.
Wind farms
The number of wind farms has increased rapidly in recent years.
The rotor blades in particular are exposed to enormous stresses and risk damage by erosion as well as lightning strikes. The average diameter of the rotors is around 100 m, which means that routine or ad hoc inspections, damage assessment and repair planning can be costly.
Using drones, inspections can be carried out quickly, simply and at low cost.
Industrial plants
Proper surveillance needs to be maintained to guarantee security (Predictive Maintenance).
Any damage needs to be detected early enough to avoid outages or to reduce the duration of any outages that do occur.
The use of drones, often supported by thermal imaging cameras helps save both time and money. This way, leaks can be identified and located, and the condition of pipework systems in inaccessible areas can be rapidly checked. Our detailed, virtual 3d models (in the sub-millimetre range) as a basis for testing work make this activity highly efficient.
Photovoltaic systems
Photovoltaics are almost the ideal example of an application for autonomous air vehicles. When fitted with thermal imaging cameras, they can quickly identify any ‘hot spots’; soiling or damage to the modules, for example, can easily be identified with RGB cameras. Thermographic screening in combination with 3D visualisation provides valuable information for the operator. BLADESCAPE develops data analysis methods for largely automated operation and predictive maintenance of PV power plants.
Pipelines
Since these installations are usually spread over a large area, long-range UAV/drones are particularly well-suited for inspecting pipelines. Above ground as well as underground (gas pipelines). The systems of our choice are long-endurance drones, especially (VTOL) fixed-wing UAV.
High-voltage power lines
Conductor cables, ground cables and mast bodies with their fittings are subject to constant stress from weather and other external influences. Regular inspections are therefore essential; in the event of damage, a lot of time can be lost in finding the cause using conventional methods. BLADESCAPE offers a range of drone inspection services to assess the condition of high-voltage power lines to varying degrees of accuracy. An intensive inspection includes very high-resolution (up to 0.4 mm GSD) photogrammetric recording and evaluation, including thermal image analysis and measurement of partial discharge or corona as well as complete recording of anomalies. Our drone inspection also enables the cause to be found quickly in the event of damage or an interruption to operations. This ensures high efficiency and quality without risk to personnel and without interrupting operations.
We have subjected over 76,000 kilometres of power lines to our digital inspection. In addition, we carried out just as many kilometres of line inspection and used precise vegetation analyses and tree fall analyses to calculate important information. This extensive, extremely valuable database flows into our evaluation algorithms and training databases, which constantly improves the quality of our data analyses. This, in combination with automated reports in 2D and 3D form, digital twins and even customised, automatically generated defect lists and damage reports in pdf format for operational damage rectification, rounds off our range of services.
Bridges and dams
Conventional inspection methods are usually very time-consuming, risky and not exactly repeatable.
Areas that are difficult to access and arched bridges can be inspected comprehensively using drones without risk and with high efficiency. This eliminates the need for time-consuming inspections using bridge inspection equipment or even the risky use of an inspection cage, which also does not allow for complete documentation.
The floor resolution achieved is in the sub-millimetre range (up to 0.23 mm GSD). Our method can also be used to measure areas, e.g. spalling and damp patches, precisely in the sub-millimetre range and compare the current condition with previous measurements. In other words, changes can be detected precisely and measures can be derived quickly and efficiently. The analysed results provide a detailed, complete picture of the location, size and changes of all abnormalities. Ideal for regularly recurring inspections of bridge objects. We are happy to provide an insight into our digital twins and 3D images of reality as the basis for highly efficient inspection and testing work.
Most conventional methods of inspection are very costly, fraught with risk and not exactly repeatable.
Difficult-to-access areas can be safely inspected using drones and with a high degree of efficiency. The ground resolution is in the sub-millimetre range (down to 0,3mm GSD).
Protective structures
Compared to conventional methods, the inspection of protection systems in alpine terrain by UAV is significantly more cost-effective, environmentally friendly and without risk to life and limb.
Watercourse inspection
Inspecting the condition of rivers, water management facilities and dykes is not efficient using conventional methods (on foot). Heavy vegetation prevents a quick and adequate assessment of the condition. In addition to normal image and hyperspectral cameras, BLADESCAPE also uses 360-degree cameras and long-range drones with FPV (first-person view) systems and RTK on board for drone inspections. This, in combination with the precise localisation of video data and the product developed for visualisation in GIS systems, makes a water inspection highly interesting for the authorities entrusted with it. Several thousand kilometres of water bodies inspected in this way as part of the projects we have successfully completed are testimony to our expertise in this area. We would be pleased to show you examples of our solutions in this area.
Buildings/structures (churches, towers, chimneys, transmitters)
The façades and structures of buildings are affected by external influences (erosion, weather, etc.), which can lead to damage. Industrial climbers or other costly and risky methods are often used to carry out inspections.
Using UAV, any internal and external damage or alterations are documented in full, thus providing a sound basis for targeted restoration measures.