Inspection of 162 Turbines in 12 days

In our continuing quest to revolutionise the South African drone industry, Darkwing Aerials has deployed a new wind turbine inspection process. 

This process, which is completely automated, uses cutting-edge inspection software paired with advanced camera and LiDAR technology. This payload, combined with our DJI M300 industrial drone, creates a very potent inspection tool that is currently unmatched in the South African wind power industry. This revolutionary inspection service offers you, the client, a myriad of benefits when compared to manual methods.

We recently trialled this new automated inspection process for the first time in South Africa in partnership with the developer of the camera payload. Our two-man drone inspection team deployed from Cape Town to the wind farm in under 9 hours. They arrived on site ready to begin work with minimal setup required. 

The first wind turbine was used to calibrate the camera system and drone flight systems. These calibrations are only performed at the first tower, and they allowed our drone team to inspect 163 turbines accurately and reliably over the following 12 days. Our experienced and SACAA-certified drone pilot moves the drone into position in front of the turbine and initiates the inspection protocol. From then onwards, the process is fully automated. The pilot monitors the inspection progress, ready to intervene in case of weather or wildlife interference.

Here we already encounter the first great advantage of the automated inspection process: uniformity. All image data collected from the turbines will be identical in terms of order taken and elements inspected. The mismatched confusion that can sometimes result from pilot error during a manual inspection is completely avoided. The accuracy and quality of each image is also guaranteed by a process that will be repeated for each turbine. 

Our drone team keeps record of any damage spotted during an automated inspection, ensuring that the client is notified immediately of serious damage. All image data is uploaded at the end of each day to be viewed by overseas inspection specialists. The client receives a detailed damage assessment analysis of each wind turbine within record time.

The speed and accuracy of the automated inspection process allows our drone team to inspect between 14 and 18 turbines every day. Our streamlined deployment techniques combined with the speed of the automated inspection software dramatically reduces the downtime for each wind turbine. Our drone team, on average, spends no more than 24 minutes at each wind turbine. This allows the client to minimise losses from inactive wind turbines.

Many inspection techniques can claim to be fast – but if it comes at the cost of usable and accurate data, it is worthless. The automated inspection package being offered by Darkwing Aerials is field tested and ready for immediate deployment to any wind farm in South Africa. Our goal is to revolutionise the drone industry in South Africa, and we are confident that we have taken the next step towards achieving this goal.