Autonomous Drone Surface Inspection for Defect Localization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Regular inspections for material defects on hard-to-reach structures like bridge pillars and wind turbine rotor blades are labor-intensive and pose safety risks due to the need for manual access at great heights.
Innovation Solution
An unmanned aircraft with a camera configuration is used to autonomously navigate and inspect surfaces, recording overlapping images to create a seamless overall image for automated defect detection and localization, utilizing position sensors and image processing to maintain a stable relative position and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual inspection methods are used for hard-to-reach surfaces, then inspection can be performed, but safety risks increase and labor effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an unmanned aircraft to capture images of the surface, creating a visual copy of the hard-to-reach area. This allows inspection personnel to examine the surface from a safe distance without physically accessing dangerous locations, thereby improving safety while maintaining inspection effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with an automated system combining unmanned aircraft, cameras, and image processing algorithms. The aircraft autonomously navigates to capture images, and computer vision algorithms automatically analyze defects, eliminating the need for personnel to physically access hazardous areas
2Area of stationary object
If multiple overlapping images are recorded to cover large surfaces, then complete surface coverage is achieved, but image processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors the inspection progress and adjusts the aircraft's flight path and imaging parameters in real-time. This ensures optimal image overlap and coverage while automatically managing the complexity of processing multiple images through adaptive control
Solution Approach 2:
The automated image processing system performs self-service by automatically stitching, aligning, and analyzing multiple overlapping images without requiring manual intervention. The system independently manages the complexity of processing large numbers of images through integrated software algorithms
Data Source
AI summary
A camera assembly arranged on an unmanned and autonomously navigating aerial vehicle is employed to inspect a surface area of for material defects. The vehicle is automatically flown to the surface area from a launch site, wherein it can fly around obstacles using automatic obstacle detection and avoidance methods. A relative position of the aerial vehicle with respect to the surface area with the aid of a position sensor is continuously measured and a sequence of images of the surface area is recorded. Between the individual images, the aerial vehicle is moved along a flight path overlapping image details of the surface area. The images of the sequence are composed into an overall image of the surface area to allow for the surface area to be inspected for defects and the location of defects to be ascertained on the basis of the overall image.