When dealing with large-scale physical infrastructure, maintenance isn’t just a formality, it’s a necessity. The challenge? Minimising downtime and spotting problems early to avoid damage.
Though they play a crucial role in ensuring safety, traditional maintenance processes are often reactive, expensive and time-consuming. For instance, structures and assets that require routine preventative inspection can be difficult or hazardous to reach, exposing technicians to a degree of risk of falling and injury.
But as we enter the era of ‘the eye in the sky’, high-resolution camera-equipped drones are becoming more accessible, transforming the way the maintenance industry handles routine inspections.
High speed, low cost: Soaring toward a new maintenance era
Lightweight, remote-controlled, airborne devices open up a world of opportunities for predictive maintenance. Drone-mounted, or integrated cameras provide the visual data that allows technicians to assess large, difficult-to-reach structures quickly and safely. This technology can be used on anything from bridges and tall buildings to wind farms and beyond, allowing technicians to nip issues in the bud before they snowball.
Without drones, organisations often rely on manual inspections, which are prone to human error and require a long list of resources — technicians, cherry pickers, scaffolding and large-scale machinery, to name a few. That’s where drone imagery has enabled a paradigm shift from reactive to efficient predictive maintenance, reducing costs and supporting safety in the long run.
With the ability to zoom into the small details and pull back to observe the bigger picture, inspectors can capture minor structural defects in HD while gaining a comprehensive overview of structures. Electricity grids are a key example of complex maintenance significantly simplified by drone technology. Consider Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s power-line inspections. With the assistance of drones, each pole was fully inspected within 10 seconds, smashing the 15 minutes it took for a lineman to examine. Not only did this approach boost overall time efficiency by an astounding 88%, but it was also 80% cheaper to run, with less CO2 output, reduced risk of downtime and a 97% return on investment for the first year.
Since then, drone camera quality has skyrocketed, as exemplified by HHLA Sky’s critical crane safety inspections. The sheer scale of cranes typically distorts radio signals during inspection, requiring images to be captured from a minimum distance of 15 meters. In such cases, high-resolution camera quality is crucial for collecting accurate data. With Sony cameras, the maintenance team could cover a larger area with a single image, detect even the smallest scratches, and complete their inspections with fewer shots. As such, it’s clear that a new standard for time efficiency and cost-effectiveness has been set for maintenance operations.
Beyond the human eye: The power of drone data
Technicians can only address what they’re able to see. In routine maintenance checks, it can be easy to miss smaller issues, such as leaks or installation faults. But these undetected problems can cause serious damage. While drone cameras are ideal for providing a wide range of data without compromising on quality, they can do much more than magnify visual data. Captured images can merge together to form detailed 3D models of structures and assets. Aerial photogrammetry is a fantastic way to achieve this.
In a nutshell, aerial photogrammetry is the process of stitching together a cascade of images captured from an airborne device. These pictures comprehensively cover all sides of the target object. Then with this data, technicians can obtain a drone-captured 3D replica of the structure or asset, allowing them to get insights that surpass what’s possible with manual maintenance. The outcome? Precise defect detection and effective progress monitoring.
Furthermore, drone imagery can be used in conjunction with other tech, such as thermal imaging sensors, which highlight temperature anomalies to uncover issues such as condensation, dampness and water ingress. And of course, we couldn’t have this conversation without mentioning the integration of AI.
Let’s explore how drones can push the boundaries of efficiency even further.
Marrying drone-captured imagery with ML and AI
AI and machine learning (ML) are complete game changers when it comes to drone-captured imagery. With AI, drones can identify and flag minuscule details such as cracks, chips and general wear and tear. They’re also able to adapt their navigation paths to avoid collision, which is integral for keeping the hardware intact when observing confined spaces.
How is this possible? Using data from images, flight logs and 3D models, AI can be ‘aware’ of its surroundings and spot patterns and anomalies taught through ML – an ongoing training process that allows the AI model to continuously enhance its ability to recognise and interpret data. These advanced AI/ML algorithms support proactive maintenance by facilitating data-driven decisions, reducing the likelihood of unnoticed faults and increasing the overall reliability of the drone fleet.
Not only are AI/ML-enhanced drones great at sleuthing out issues early on, but they’re also impressively scalable. AI-based systems can process vast volumes of data from multiple drones and sites, giving technicians the freedom to conduct and complete multiple inspections of varied project scopes within a remarkably short time frame. This time efficiency translates to cost savings, reduced labour and minimised disruption. Drones can be employed for a diverse range of projects, from small plots of land to vast landscapes.
Flying high with drone-enhanced maintenance
The shift from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance marks a momentous change, driving a more proactive and reliable approach to maintenance strategies. And drone capture technology is only getting more advanced, with cameras like the ILX-LR1 offering exceptional imaging capabilities and enabling custom applications for specialised tasks. Designed specifically for drone payloads, this camera comes with an SDK that’s compatible with Linux, Windows, and MacOS, giving programmers a comprehensive software library to control the camera, API specification, and demonstration code.
With AI thrown into the mix, the outlook for drone-based image capture is becoming even more promising. This synergy not only enhances the precision and efficiency of operations, but also sets the stage for a smarter, safer and more cost-effective future in maintenance.
Article written By Matthew Swinney, Head of Image Sensing Solutions at Sony Europe