Automatic inspection of wind power plants using J-Power, KDDI and drones

Words By: Juida

The blade was inspected by remote control by taking a picture of the wind power plant with a drone equipped with auto flight software. It is thus possible to shoot three blades of a stopped wind turbine from four directions in one flight.‬

By using auto-flight technology, local maintenance personnel can inspect the blades with simple settings and can quickly inspect during an emergency such as a lightning strike.‬

The team was able to take a picture of the entire wind power generator (blades, towers, etc.). It can be taken in about 20 minutes per unit, and the time can be shortened to 1/10 compared to usual inspection methods. ‬

The photographed picture was compared with the photograph taken by close-up work at height. It was not inferior and the damaged part could be analyzed by image analysis software. The team hence verified the effectiveness of visual inspection by conventional aerial work.‬

This will help as usual inspection works carried out by each company are concentrated only in the summer when the wind does not blow for workers’ safety reasons.‬