Air Gap Inspection Crawler
Project Overview
ULC Robotics conducted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inspection of a 12-acre substation in New York State. ULC’s pilots flew multiple sensors in a single, expertly executed inspection, delivering superior productivity and data capture while improving safety, system reliability, and utility efficiency.
Industry: Electric T&D
Business Areas Addressed:
- Substation Operations & Maintenance
- Vegetation Management
- Corporate Security
Solution Improved:
- System reliability
- Safety and security
- Utility efficiency
Results:
- 100% data capture
- Delivery of high-resolution color and thermal imagery
- All data captured in half day (10-minutes flight time) versus two days
- ULC US-Built Multirotor UAS
Payload:
- 42MP DSLR
- FLIR Thermal Cameras
Altitude:
- 200ft / 61m
Challenges
Our electric utility customer identified several obstacles impeding their goal of more secure substations and enhanced operations efficiency.
- Lack of current visual asset and condition data
- Collection of infrared data requires the use of handheld devices
- Spontaneous manual inspection by different groups affects productivity and incurs repetitive travel and labor costs
ULC proposed an in-depth aerial inspection and analysis of their substation and was able to identify several areas in which UAV are able to deliver significant improvements over traditional inspection methods.
Inspection & Results
Using first-class, high-resolution and thermal imaging cameras mounted on a US-built multirotor UAV, ULC completed the entire substation inspection in approximately 2 hours (including set-up) and provided:
- Detailed visual data to help meet inspection requirements and identify issues with substation condition, vegetation growth, and security breaches.
- High resolution visual and thermal imagery of the substation, providing current information not available from Google Earth view or any out-of-date survey data.
- A full set of geotagged visual images.
By utilizing the powerful technology employed by UAVs, ULC Robotics can promote a more efficient use of utility resources, enhance electric system reliability and security, and improve the safety of employees.