Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories AG, a Swiss company designing next-generation technology for the inspection of wind turbine rotor blades, has launched a new drone-based platform.
The company designed its new 3DX HD product to be a cost-effective solution for collecting large volumes of high-definition data of turbine blades.
Based on the DJI M210 drone, Sulzer Schmid’s solution delivers fully autonomous drone inspections at a significantly lower cost compared to its existing 3DXTM Ultra-HD product, based on DJI’s M600 drone, the company claims.
Tom Sulzer, co-founder of Sulzer Schmid, notes that the solution offers a “fully digital, end-to-end process [that] creates a foundation for trend analysis and predictive maintenance.”
Whereas critical inspections, such as end-of-warranty or change of ownership, call for the images provided by the 3DXTM Ultra-HD product, regular inspections can be carried out by the 3DXTM HD platform at a fraction of the cost, says the company. In addition, it is compact enough to be checked in as regular luggage for air travel and can be deployed easily on CTV ships for offshore wind inspections.
“We are pleased to deliver a new solution that addresses our customers’ needs for high-volume and routine blade inspections,” adds Christof Schmid, co-founder of the company.
