Experts believe that drones are the future for executing inspections in the utility industry. As a part of its maintenance protocol, many utility industries deploy UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) or drones for an accurate and effective aerial survey. Besides a plethora of benefits, the ability of drones to offer better data, low upfront costs of equipment and their remarkable efficiency, has escalated their use across large and medium-sized companies as well.
Accuracy during inspection is of utmost importance in the energy sector, where a slight negligence can cause an irreparable damage to the company, life and/or property. Before the advent
of UAVs, the utility industry relied mostly on the traditional methods of inspection. These procedures, such as helicopter inspection, lineman, ground sensors, cloud computing and the like, involve a synthesis of physical labor and aerial photography which are costly to perform and fatal to human lives. Helicopters in utility inspection make for an expensive solution than a drone since their costs include operating charges, a highly trained pilot and professional crew fees, fuel, maintenance, insurance and other expenses. On an average, the daily cost of using a chopper for inspection purposes will depend upon the intricacy of details in the work scope along with external factors. The flight path of a chopper may put up industrial safety concerns that need to be alleviated in order to prevent the possibility of any fatality.
Capturing photos is usually done by binoculars and cameras mounted on a helicopter or handheld cameras which are subject to environmental conditions such as wind, turbulence, etc. Unlike drones, they only provide a top-down view of the site. Similarly, ground sensors provide fragmented data since they are capable of analyzing the area only from the angle they are installed. They are unable to furnish accurate data for a larger site and are also time- consuming.
Based on the annual fatality rate,
linework tops the list of the 10 most hazardous jobs in the world. Not only does it require heavy physical labor, it is also life-threatening. The responsibilities of a lineman include power supply to factories, hospitals, schools, commercial and residential setups, etc. though they are not much
recognized for the chances they take on their lives every day. Working on electrical lines and poles, linemen are exposed to some of the most dangerous risks including falling, electrocution, burns, fires, explosions and injuries such as sprains, fractures, etc.
Surpassing all traditional solutions, these unmanned aircraft systems offer uncountable benefits for powerline inspection. Being light-weight and easily maneuvered, they are affordable and require about a fraction or even less of the cost of hiring a helicopter for the same purpose. Drones have the ability to get much closer to the assets being monitored providing the minutest of details, all this without compromising on the credibility. They render high resolution images and provide access to remote, rural and hard-to-reach locations. Saving hundreds of hazardous man-hours, they avoid the need of linemen to come in close proximity with the power lines. Drones follow a faster inspection routine and a safer operation which keeps labor costs at minimal. As the drone hovers around the site, it covers all aspects from every possible angle, giving utility companies the benefit of identifying key issues easily.
The UAV technology is rapidly progressing each day with advancements in tilt sensors, accelerometers, magnetic sensors, improved UV corona detection, better remote controls and propulsion, etc. The latest versions of drones are equipped with Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as GPS technology, Infrared cameras, laser and other state-of-the-art technics. Most of them come with Obstacle Sensing/Detection, Collision Avoidance, Gyro Stabilization, IMU, Battery Indicators, Return-To-Home, Warnings, UAV Range features and more.
Realizing the ever-evolving Drone Technology, the precision of drone data, affordability and the broad spectrum of coverage, companies in the utility industry have embraced the practicality of using drones for inspection.
