ANAFI USA Inspection Use Cases

Telephoto drone use in power line inspection

The ANAFI USA drone vastly improves the powerline inspection process for those in the power and utility industries.

 

For power and utility companies, regular powerline inspections and timely maintenance are crucial to keeping costs down and restoring electricity quickly. Most power grid operators today rely on a combination of on-the-ground staff and low-flying helicopters to inspect their power lines — both of which can be expensive, time-consuming and dependent on optimal weather conditions.

 

Professional-grade drones, like Parrot’s ANAFI USA, are rapidly being adopted by energy and utility companies to easily conduct infrared equipment inspections, survey storm damage, and inspect power lines. Parrot ANAFI USA serves as an easy-to-use tool to conduct these regular inspections faster and at a reduced cost. Its powerful 32x zoom also enables professionals to precisely and securely inspect the power lines without the risk of getting caught in the electric arc.

 

While on-the-ground inspections are slow-moving and the cost of helicopters (which can run more than $2 million to purchase or around $4,000 daily) can be steep, our customers in the power and utility industry have found our weather-proof ANAFI USA drones to greatly reduce the cost of inspections while also reducing overall safety risks for professionals. The adjustable altitude and flying distance, along with advanced sensors, 32x zoom capabilities and 32-minute flight time make ANAFI USA extremely useful for surveying large-scale utility projects in any terrain.

Thermal drone use in solar panel inspection

The ANAFI USA drone can be used to inspect large solar panels quickly and easily by detecting the heat leaks within the panels.

 

With worldwide efforts to embrace renewable sources of energy underway, installation of solar panels has increased dramatically among organizations. Critical inspection tools are primordial as a single defective cell can compromise the entire system. Manual inspection is a time-consuming process requiring workers to climb high-rise platforms and halt power production to ensure proper safety protocols.

 

Operational in just 55 seconds, Parrot’s ANAFI USA drone uses an integrated FLIR Boson Thermal sensor and a powerful 32x zoom, to detect centimetric hot spots and possible anomalies from an altitude of up to 40 m, 5 solar panel rows at a time – without shutting down the photovoltaic plant. Operators also have the possibility to conduct autonomous routine and precise flights with the Flight Plan feature.

 

Once the flight mission is over, operators can take advantage of Parrot SDK partner Survae’s interactive video/ map player, to replay thermal footage in a geospatial and temporal context. They can also use the application FreeFlight 6.7 to review videos, change the range of thermal settings to isolate exactly an element, and ultimately remove doubts and make informed decisions.

 

For example, the manual inspection by foot of a 30 km2 power plant takes about five days for one worker to complete. With ANAFI USA, the same inspection process can be completed in just one day, leading to both time and cost savings for businesses.

Drone use in tower inspection

The ANAFI USA drone is changing the game in tower inspection from the quality, safety and efficiency perspectives.

 

From communication companies with cell and radio towers to other industries that utilize towers as part of their daily operations, time-consuming maintenance and preliminary surveys are a regular and frequent occurrence.

 

When it comes to tower surveys, Parrot’s ANAFI USA drone can help provide your team with valuable information as its thermal imaging and 32x zoom capabilities easily allow workers to identify equipment serial numbers, confirm permanent installations, detect system failures, or even find structural damage following a hurricane for example. The powerful zoom also enables operators to complete safely their inspections without being caught in the interferences of the tower. Dangerous and time-consuming tower climbing is no longer necessary.

 

In some instances, towers can differ structurally from one place to another. Having the ability to do precise 3D mapping with Pix4Dmapper is also a valuable tool to provide clients an understanding of the structure, the equipment needs, in addition to valuable measures.

 

As an IP53 qualified drone, ANAFI USA is also built for missions in the toughest flight conditions, offering weatherproofing with water and dust resistance. Its stabilized imaging ensures high-quality footage at great heights, even at 15 m/s wind conditions.