Page 26 - 2022 - Q4 - Minerva in Focus

MARINE TECHNOLOGY Cutting-Edge Indoor Unmanned Aircraft Systems:

The new mega-trend in Remote Inspection

Techniques

In the era of Industry 4.0, the motto “Ro- Sophisticated Indoor Unmanned Aircraft them cannot take place while at mid-sea.
bots should be sent in hazardous places Systems (UAS) are at the forefront of con- On the other hand, close-up visual inspec-
and dangerous situations instead of hu- temporary robot technology and an adap- tions using a high-end drone with data
mans” is not just a wish but the new me- tive tool for alternative means of Close-up capture capabilities minimizes the need
ga-trend that, when it comes to confined Surveying, compatible with a wide range to put human life at risk while facilitating
and hard-to-reach spaces inspections, of survey applications in confined and highly efficient data collection with signifi-
keeps the workforce safe, out of harmful hard-to-reach spaces of ships and Mobile cantly reduced downtime and costs.
spaces and optimizes resources’ allocation Offshore Units (MOUs). Although many in the shipping industry had
by saving time and costs. Ships and MOUs are made of steel – the already started implementing drones for
longitudinal stiffeners, brackets, and long surveys and inspections before COVID-19,
plates that make up the hull tend towards the pandemic fast-tracked the process and
corrosion, cracks, and indents; therefore, accelerated further technological develop-
regular inspections are mandatory. Accord- ment, including in remote live streaming
ing to classification society regulations, at by overcoming limitations related to the
least 30% of every tank in a ship’s hull must Faraday cage phenomenon in the metal
be inspected every two and a half years to hull of ships and insufficient bandwidth
ensure its integrity. for remote visual feeding. With handy and
Inspecting a ship’s tanks, cargo holds, and cost-conscious equipment, imaging from
voids is a demanding task that requires en- duct keels or bottom ballast tanks can be
tering hot, confined spaces with little or no live-streamed thousands of miles away
light, a toxic atmosphere with little oxygen, back to Classes’ surveyor or company’s
or working at heights. technical superintendent offices.
This decades-long, traditional, and danger- As the shipping industry undergoes a rapid
ous surveying method uses tools such as digital transformation, the traditional, cost-
building scaffolding, cherry pickers, rope ly, and risky surveying methods become a
access, rafts, and entry with respiratory less-and-less necessary practice and not
protective devices, which puts both survey- an inevitable risk to human life. For safe,
ors and the crew at risk. Undoubtedly, all reliable, and cost-effective ship surveying,
these close-up survey methods are highly the mega-trend of GPS-denied/ indoor
hazardous, time-consuming, and costly, drone technology has proven to be indis-
An analysis by Diaplous Group with many limitations; for instance, most of pensable and the most effective solution.

26 MINERVA IN FOCUS – ISSUE 22 / Q4 2022