Drone Survey What Is Involved
Drone survey is the use of drone technology to combat a variety of maintenance solutions around assets and infrastructure in any industry that might require regular or dynamic maintenance techniques. Drone survey is the current most disruptive innovation we have seen in recent years and although drones and their very nature are difficult to comprehend by many, they are essential for any industry wanting to move forward.
Drone survey can embellish your current maintenance program by providing essential data that might normally only be available during shutdown periods and prolonged outages of specific areas.
Safety Improvement
Drone survey in the first instance is essentially the safest method of surveying assets and infrastructure currently available. There is no requirement for a manned element during any part of the survey, at height or in arduous areas that may be deemed potentially dangerous for manned inspection techniques.
When assessing risk, the first mitigation is always how can we achieve the same results without the inherent danger to personnel. Drone survey (s) are now able to combat this issue.
Drone Survey Vs Traditional Survey
Cost Effectiveness
Due to the nature of drone survey it eliminates the requirement for prolonged access methods such as scaffold, ladders, lengthy MEWP hire contracts, Teams of rope access personnel or cranes with work baskets. Generally, all that is required is a UAV pilot and an observer (dependent on the project undertaken).
This alone reduces the costs significantly and although a higher day rate will no doubt be obvious, the time taken in comparison to anything else on the market will be significantly reduced by up to weeks (dependent on project) This combined with improved safety is a winning combination of innovation and disruptive technology.
Improved Data Acquisition
Drone survey technology can provide superior outputs via a live feed to a designated ground station, providing hi-resolution visual evidence to the project team if required or recorded directly to the onboard memory and uploaded and analysed at a later date. A report can be established pinpointing any remedial requirements giving the project team an accurate analysis and targeted area to plan any corrective actions, without the need for a wrap around access solution such as scaffold or team of rope access technicians.
The data collated during the drone survey can be used for years to come creating a formidable trend analysis providing data that can be utilised to analyse, erosion, defect, deterioration, Corrective and planned maintenance and overlaid to compare with previous years. Allowing project team to better assign budgets and plan outage or maintenance periods.
Time Efficiency
Time taken to complete visual, geographic or standard structural surveys can be extremely time consuming with the rising costs of traditional access methods which would generally require teams of qualified men to either erect and operate said equipment. Can run into weeks if not months. For instance, to erect a wrap-around solution such as a scaffold to carry out an inspection of the upper elevation of a building may run into weeks prior to a qualified assessor providing their services on the condition by scaling the scaffold by hand which again could run on. Drone survey is the only solution that combats the traditional time-consuming issue.
Again relating to the above point the data collated by an assessor is visual but the quantity and quality of that data collection are not as effective as when acquired adopting drone survey resulting in hugely improved time scales which is the main contributing factor to cost efficiency.
Improved Logistics
Drone survey and the services that encompass it can be carried out with minimal disruption to the surrounding environment. Drastically improving logistics.
Road closures may be required when using traditional methods,
Prolonged shut down of certain elements to allow the access method to remain for the required period.
Traffic delays due to the offload of equipment such as a scaffold or access platforms
The potential for dropped objects into the public right of way
The potential for vandalism, allowing unqualified personnel to access scaffold or MEWP causing damage and potentially harming people
The potential for falls from height – Remote locations preventing use of traditional methods
There are certainly several issues around traditional methods and their work arounds which can be mitigated out utilising drone survey as a replacement or additional solution. There are obviously certain elements that may require consideration when using drones also but logistically allot easier to manage.
Cutting costs in infrastructure maintenance with UAVs
Oil rigs, chimneys or antennae – a company's large infrastructure assets are typically remote and difficult to survey. This makes the tried-and-tested method of manual maintenance inspection a costly, time-consuming and sometimes even dangerous process.
But with drones, it doesn't need to be this way. The principle is simple: Instead of a technician climbing up a chimney or wind turbine, why not use a drone armed with a camera to beam footage to an experienced inspector? Or better still, kit out the device with advanced visual and data analytics capabilities and let it assess the asset's status and maintenance needs itself.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can access hard-to-reach places faster, cheaper and with less risk than manual inspections, and potentially allow the asset to remain on line. They may one day also be able to carry out maintenance. In this report, we outline the advantages of drone technology and provide a pathway for decision makers who want to harness its asset-inspection potential. We also show that first movers stand to reap the biggest rewards.
Technology that's really taken off
In the past years, the public's perception of drones has been centered on their military applications. But commercial use of the technology is now on the rise. Our analysis shows that in 2017, the global commercial drone market was worth EUR 3.1 billion, with some three million units shipped. By 2022, the market value could hit as much as EUR 12.6 bn, with over 15 m units shipped.
This boom is the result of growing recreational, business and research use. It's now common for real estate agents to take aerial footage of houses, for example, while conservationists use them to monitor wildlife. And who hasn't contemplated the thought of a journey in an unmanned drone taxi?
In general, drones are expected to become prominent in all use cases that meet the so-called 4D criteria: dull, dirty, distant, dangerous. This makes them a great fit in the field of asset inspection, mainly in the energy and transportation sectors.
A simple and cost-effective business solution
With cost pressure a growing concern among asset operators and industrial services companies, UAV-based asset inspection offers a new way to optimize cost and time savings, increase performance and quality, and thereby secure a competitive edge.
The offshore oil and gas industry has already realized the potential to be had here. Total, BP, Shell, Statoil and others use drone-based unmanned aerial systems (UASs) to inspect their oil platforms, combining video and thermal imaging with advanced image recognition technology and automated data analysis. These have cut inspection times from eight weeks to five days while allowing operations to continue.
Based on this success, the industry has started to extend its use of UAV asset inspection to other infrastructure, such as plant chimneys. It is doing this in close collaboration with leading specialist firms like CyberHawk and SkyFutures.
In such a nascent field, it's hard to put a figure on the exact savings UAV inspections offer. But we have learned from our work with asset operators and service companies that the potential is enormous: Costs for the inspection of an onshore wind turbine can be reduced by 50% per turbine, assessments of large cargo oil storage tanks can be completed several days faster than with manual methods, and chimney flue inspections, which traditionally require days of shutdown, can be performed in hours, with savings of up to 90%. And that's not to mention the reduced risk to personnel.
Why now is the time to move
With success stories mounting, it's likely that many more asset operators – from rail companies to grid operators and pipeline constructors – will introduce drone inspection technology. So we believe now is the moment to get on board.
But while the potential of UAV inspections is clear, it is worth considering, as with any new technology, the challenges they present. The young market is highly fragmented, with the few established providers pitted against startups and all pursuing various hardware, software and service provision models: DJI, 3D Robotics, Yuneec, Parrot, AeroVironment, Insitu, Martek, Ambarella, and Lockheed Martin to name just a few. This makes it tricky to select the right partner.
In addition, aviation authorities are still struggling to regulate drone use. While the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Single European Sky ATM Research Program (SESAR) are looking at the problem, much remains to be done, including on rules for beyond-line-of-sight operations.
But such challenges also present opportunity, and demonstrate that the sector can still be shaped by larger players. By adopting the technology now, companies will be able to work with the technology pioneers to overcome obstacles such as limited battery lives, assist in the formulation of regulations and secure a competitive edge by being the first to make savings from drone-backed asset maintenance.
The drones just get better
Looking forward, first movers will have the best chance of unleashing the technology's full potential. They will quickly be able to become more data driven in an era when data is king and leverage their know-how into a new business model, perhaps even providing drone services to others.
The prospect of future developments in UAV asset inspection also provides compelling reasons to act now. Advances in battery technology, for example, will enable greater and greater ranges, while new fuel cell, solar, tethering, and gas power systems could enable almost continuous operations.
And with drones able to stay aloft nearly all day, improved computing capacity and artificial intelligence (AI) will enable them to perform real-time analysis. Growing computing muscle will also aid the development of so-called swarms of drones, which will call on AI to work together on increasingly complex tasks.
And how about this all being done autonomously? That too could soon be a reality. Several companies are already pushing the technological boundaries here. These include SkyX, a Canadian firm that is developing an autonomous, self-charging drone for the inspection of North America's vast oil and gas pipeline network.
A simple pathway to drone-based asset inspection
So that leaves one key question: how can asset operators quickly exploit the potential of drones? We suggest a network-based approach that leverages existing market knowledge via a pilot project.
The first step is to set up a small project team with a dedicated, empowered leader. This person needs to have the mindset to perform in an agile environment and the clout to push the project through. A top-level sponsor is essential.
Once in post, the project leader should begin building a network of drone experts. This needs to encompass several areas. First, regulators and industry associations to help secure necessary licenses, as well as any publicly available funds. Second, established hardware, software and drone-based service providers to determine the current state of the market, available technologies (off-the-shelf or customizable), and whether any shortcuts are possible, for example via test runs with an existing service provider. Finally, startups and academia – this is where important developments happen and where top talent will most likely be found.
Next, while continuing to build the network, the team should use intermediate findings to design (and continuously adapt) the pilot project. This would include selecting a drone model and payload (ideally off-the-shelf to save time), identifying suitable assets for a trial run, and defining a timeline and KPIs. The KPIs should include UAV-specific indicators as well as inspection-specific markers to monitor drone performance. It's important not to over-engineer the trial – the goal should be proof-of-concept rather than a finished product.
After that, it's time to run the pilot. A key part of this should be agile monitoring of progress, with lessons learned compiled and fed back into the process. For example, has the UAV model proven itself, and does the process need refinement?
The final step should be focused on expanding the project. The best course of action will depend on the pilot's results, but a set of core questions will underpin all scenarios. These include whether the company should build all inspection capacity in-house and develop knowledge independently, or whether it should partner with or invest in a startup, university program, or drone service provider.
Flying into the sunset
It's clear from the examples and successes outlined in this piece that drone-based asset inspection is likely to become the new standard in asset inspection. By getting on board now, companies have the chance not only to gain a head start on their competitors, but also to maximize savings. Perhaps more importantly, they could also help to redefine the asset inspection business model and become service providers themselves.
By: Uwe Weichenhain
JANUARY 29, 2019
Co-author: Sascha Schuster
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are one of the most game-changing technologies to appear in recent years. They are a hot topic of discussion and the subject of some debate. One of the fastest growing applications for drones is UAV surveying, since land surveyors can use these devices to quickly and efficiently survey large areas. In this post, we take a look at the rise of UAVs, which industries are embracing the technology, and how UAVs are changing the world of land surveying.
The Origins of UAVs Surveying
When this idea of UAVs first surfaced, the military was using the concept to identify mines in Afghanistan. Tudor Thomas, an aerial-imagery specialist behind the concept, took his knowledge and transformed it into a lucrative business model.
Using the single-frame images from the photos, Thomas and his team developed software to correct those images, blending them into a single consumable. Known as orthorectification, this process created a geo-referenced map though real-world location data based on the GPS reading of ground control points.
UAV Adoption
Some of the earliest adopters of commercial drone technology include businesses in agriculture, energy, construction and land management. Most of these industries have been experimenting with UAV technology for years. However, now that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been issuing Section 333 status to businesses, which allows them to legally use drones for commercial purposes, these industries have started to include UAVs as part of their service offering.
Here are some facts about drone technology adoption:
Most growth in the drone industry is on the commercial side, as drones move away from being primarily in the military market. This market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% between 2015 and 2020, compared to 5% growth on the military side.
Package delivery and E-commerce will not be an early focus of the drone industry.
Disaster relief and conservation experts welcome drone mapping as an alternative to satellite imagery.
The global commercial drone market will take shape around applications among a number of industries such as utilities, mining, energy, agriculture, real estate, new media, construction and film production.
How UAVs are Changing Land Surveying
Land surveying is one industry that has been particularly keen to adopt UAVs. There are three main reasons for this:
UAV technology allows land surveyors to survey large areas with ease. Challenges such as rough terrain become effortless when the survey is done with a UAV.
Since the drone is airborne and does not need to drive from point to point in order to perform a scan, it can survey a territory in significantly less time than a traditional survey. This means that projects that once took a week can be completed in a day.
Because surveys created by a UAV can be done quickly and don’t take as many man-hours or resources to complete, they are less expensive. Since many of the industries that typically need land surveys (energy, real estate, etc.) are constantly looking for ways to reduce costs, this is particularly important.
Thanks to advances in photogrammetry, these surveys can not only be done quickly and inexpensively, they can also be done with the same level of accuracy as traditional surveys. This means there is no real trade-off in accuracy with a UAV generated survey.
Because of the above reasons, UAVs are a game-changer for professional land surveyors and a benefit to their customers. While few surveyors have access to the technology, and fewer still have experience using it, the technology can still be a huge benefit for construction projects. Project managers simply need to partner with a professional land surveyor that does have experience using UAVs.
February 25, 2016
Image source: development seed