Ultra-portable drone solution simplifies wind turbine blade inspections

A new drone solution has been specifically developed to enable wind blade inspections in areas where site access is difficult or where complex logistical barriers require a quick, highly portable blade inspection solution.

Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories, a Swiss company pioneering unmanned aerial vehicle technology for wind blade inspections, has launched its new 3DX SmartPilot solution that allows operators to deliver semi-autonomous drone inspections using portable equipment that can be brought onsite easily and deployed immediately.

“The compact design of 3DX SmartPilot makes it particularly well-suited for inspections of wind farms operating in very remote locations but also for ad-hoc inspections. It’s like carrying out inspections from a backpack. Deployable worldwide, our new plug-and-play solution is highly flexible and will overcome most logistical and customs restrictions. Once onsite, it can be deployed instantly,” commented Sulzer Schmid co-founder and CEO Tom Sulzer.

The drone solution is powered by Sulzer Schmid’s proprietary software and compatible with most small off-the-shelf DJI drones. It is designed to deliver semi-autonomous inspections carried out by a drone pilot with the assistance of the 3DX software to ensure optimal flight paths. The inspection data is uploaded, processed and analysed in the 3DX Blade Platform, described as the most advanced data management system for blade inspections.

“This is the most economical solution because it only requires lower-cost hardware without proprietary payload. At the same time, it delivers all the value of the 3DX Blade Platform with no compromise on data processing and smart analytics. Thanks to this latest innovation, we can now ensure that the data of wind assets, no matter where they are located, is captured cost-effectively within Sulzer Schmid’s stringent quality standards,” concluded Sulzer.