The potential of these technologies
Use of drones and robots in industrial maintenance inspections is now a rapidly growing trend, fuelled by the numerous benefits of the technology, such as saving time and money, providing highly detailed results, and above all ensuring workers' safety.
Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), can quickly and nimbly access awkward or remote locations such as heights, pipelines, and bridges; they are equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors to collect detailed data from various angles and altitudes. They can cover vast areas in relatively little time, cutting down on costly and time-consuming processes such as building scaffolding, travelling by car or on foot, or hiring helicopters.
Robots are likewise beginning to play a decisive role in industrial inspection, designed to navigate complex environments such as confined spaces, tunnels and other hazardous places where the entry or evacuation of humans can be complicated, or even dangerous; equipping mobile platforms with advanced sensor technology enables automatic identification and assessment of measurements, defects, non-conformities and anomalies.
Use in Edison
Both drones and robots have several potential applications in Edison, such as patrolling the operational units of integrated service customers: moreover, they can be either remotely piloted or autonomous, reducing the need for human intervention to optimise use of operators’ time and skills.
The potential of these technologies is amplified with integration of data analysis and AI: this is because processing of the data collected permits rapid classification of any problems observed; it is possible to generate detailed, in-depth and usable reports that facilitate decision-making and proactive maintenance.
With this in mind, Edison is investing in setting up a facility specifically for the collection and structuring of information, for relations with research organisations and start-ups, and above all for interconnection, facilitation and enhancement of internal expertise on inspection activities through technology.
Overall, the use of drones and robots is an evolving trend, constantly monitored by Edison to keep up with technological changes in research and development and thus increase the reliability, productivity and efficiency of inspection processes.