Advanced drone technology has many benefits and can be used in various inspection projects.

Advanced drone technology is a flexible, rapidly deployable inspection tool that can visually inspect difficult-to-reach places, says rope access specialist Skyriders marketing manager Mike Zinn.

This technology can not only capture high- resolution images or 4K videos that explicitly reveal cracks, damage, displaced wires and additional defects but also helps to avoid placing people in dangerous places unnecessarily, he explains.

Zinn notes that using such technology results in significant cost savings because companies are not required to spend considerable amounts of money and wasted time on providing access, such as scaffolding for the inspections.

The technology was recently used at a new coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, for its smoke stack flue inspections, which was completed in January this year.

“Our drone team was responsible for assisting a specialist engineering team from consulting engineers company Nyeleti to gather important visual inspection data of the smoke stack structure to report on its current condition.”

Both the indoor and outdoor drones were used for this project to visually inspect the various areas and components of the smoke stack flue which rises about 220 m above ground, avoiding the more costly and time-consuming means of inspection.

Further, Skyriders also used new drone technology for a large energy and petrol chemical company in Gauteng’s internal tank inspections.

The Flyability Elios indoor drones used for this project were the first collision-tolerant drone, designed for the inspection and exploration of the most inaccessible places.

“Allowing for the first time to fly in complex, cluttered or indoor spaces, Elios unleashes the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles in numerous applications where their use was previously too dangerous or simply impossible without incurring massive costs and exposing inspectors to unnecessary risks,” says Zinn.

The drones were used to inspect difficult-to-reach areas such as the roof structures, obviating the need for costly installations, such as scaffolding.

Once the detailed visual overview of the condition of the structure was available, which was captured using the Elios indoor drones, more detailed non-destructive testing inspections or repairs and maintenance followed and, where necessary, were carried out using rope access.

It is evident that clients reap the benefits of advanced drone technology, concludes Zinn.