Perceptual Robotics launches autonomous drone

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Perceptual Robotics will launch the DOT autonomous drone, designed to undertake in-depth turbine inspections and analyze the data collected. The company has had DOT in development since its inception. The new drone system has been designed to collect high-quality data from turbines in less than 20 minutes, while offering low operational costs for customers and minimal training for operators. Another key element is DOT’s safety features as the system has been designed to avoid potential collision with the turbine.

The DOT drone inspection system will be ready for shipping to customers in May following its showcase at Wind Europe. (Courtesy: Perceptual Robotics)

DOT is named after two prominent female engineers: USA’s Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician and NASA’s first black manager, and Britain’s Dorothy Spicer, the first woman to gain an advanced qualification in aeronautical engineering. The exclusive software product, designed by Perceptual Robotics, allows drones to use laser and camera sensors to understand the environment the device is in, plan its trajectory and efficiently collect the data required from the turbines.

DOT’s design allows it to manage the drone’s cameras and automatically control how it takes photographs. The software can be linked to a tablet device to set up a turbine inspection and receive data. The system reduces the need for skilled operators to undertake inspections, therefore lowering the chance for human error.

DOT was officially unveiled at the Wind Europe event April 5-7, 2022, in Bilbao, Spain. From its stand at 3-E28, Perceptual Robotics will host demonstrations of the DOT drone system and showcase the set-up process via a tablet. The drones will be put through complete simulated missions of turbine inspections, displaying the speed of data collection and the quality of gathered images.

“DOT represents the pinnacle of processing turbine inspection data, combining state-of-the-art data analysis with fast, high-quality imagery and a software system that totally manages the movements and activities of the drone device. We also wanted to make DOT simple and easy for our customers to use ‘off the shelf’, thereby removing dependence on the skills of the operator to determine the quality of the turbine inspection,” said Kostas Karachalios, Perceptual Robotics CEO.

More info www.perceptual-robotics.com