Kevin O'Donovan discusses using drones in utilities. Common current use cases include inspecting assets, ground surveys, monitoring vegetation and site security. Workflow involves automated flight and image processing to extract data. Challenges include integrating drone data into existing systems, data volume, regulatory issues, and social acceptance. Future applications may involve crawlers, robots, indoor drones, swarms, high-altitude drones, satellites, underwater drones and driverless vehicles to expand inspection capabilities.
2. @Kevin_ODonovan
Using Drones in Utilities …
Why am I here
Common Utility use cases today
Level set on ‘use cases’
The Workflow – the easy bit & the hard bit
Some ‘features’ to consider …
Top Drone pain points
The future of ‘drones’
3. @Kevin_ODonovan
Who am I …
Technology Evangelist
for decades
Fly drones for fun Involved in the Industry
4. @Kevin_ODonovan
Common Utility Use Cases today …
Inspection of Assets Ground Survey Vegetation Encroachment
Site Security Disaster Response Line Stringing
Source : Intel
Source : AboveGeo Source : EarthEye Lidar
Source : SkySkopes
Source : Drone BelowSource : The Sociable
5. @Kevin_ODonovan
Level set on ‘use cases’ …
1. Routine flight or ad-hoc flight
2. Manual flight or Automated flight
3. Specialized Drone Team or all staff trained
4. Inside or Outside
5. On company property or public/private land
6. Capturing photos, video, LiDar, Infra-red, corrosion/thickness …
7. Visual Line of Sight or Beyond Visual Line of sight (BVLOS)
8. Using a multi-rotor UAV or Fixed Wing UAV
Source : Sky-Futures
7. @Kevin_ODonovan
The Workflow … Automation …
Pix4D Sterblue Sky-Futures
1. Flight Automation
Sky-Futures
2. Image Processing Applications, a few examples …
3. 3D Point Cloud / Lidar
Source : EarthEye Lidar
8. @Kevin_ODonovan
The Workflow … the ‘hard’ bit …
Integrating the inspection output automatically into existing workflows …
9. @Kevin_ODonovan
As an example …
We find a defective solar panel …
Inspection found a defective solar
panel
Will need to;
1> ID the actual existing asset
2> Check for spare part / order
3> Schedule workorder for
replacement
4> Update all asset mgmt. info
Source : Pix4D
10. @Kevin_ODonovan
Some ‘features’ to consider … 1 / 2
1. Who own’s the data ? Where is the data? Data Security …
2. Inhouse Competencies VS Out-sourcing …
3. Regardless of ‘better’ AI, still need human oversight
4. Risk Management – flying a ‘Safe Drone’ / Compliance
5. Reliable Communications ( 4G, 5G, Satelitte comms … eSIM )
6. Data Privacy – GDPR etc
7. Range / Battery Limitations related to Payload weight
11. @Kevin_ODonovan
Some ‘features’ to consider … 2 / 2
8. Using new ‘sensors’ / Integration capabilities
9. Accuracy – Need to use GPS / PPK, RTK, VRS etc…
10. Collision & Avoidance technologies
11. Electro-Magnetic Interference
12. Inspections underneath a structure
13. Weather conditions / Environmental conditions
14. Worker & Society Acceptance of Drones
DJI Matrice 210
Intel Falcon 8+
12. @Kevin_ODonovan
Drone Top Pain Point’s in Utilities
1. Lack of Regulatory Framework, BVLOS etc
2. Workflow Integration is NOT trivial
3. Ability to use huge volume of data
4. Worker & Society Acceptance
13. @Kevin_ODonovan
The Future … define ‘drone’ ...
1. Crawlers – Crawling along in tunnels, in pipes, in ducting, along cables
2. Robots – For all sorts of specific use cases.
3. Indoor Drones for inspections of indoor facilities, tanks, boilers etc.
4. Anti-Drones – To stop the ‘bad’ drones. (CVAU’s)
5. Swarms of Drones
6. High Altitude Drones –providing imaging and other sensor technology over a
specific area for potentially weeks or months at a time.
7. Low Orbit inexpensive Satellites
8. On Water / Under Water Drones
9. Drone in a Box / Tethered Drones
10. Driverless Vehicles – Could be called a ’drone’
14. @Kevin_ODonovan
Questions … maybe a few answers
LinkedIN : Kevin_ODonovan
twitter : @Kevin_ODonovan
eMail : Kevin@kevin-odonovan.com
