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.