INTRODUCTION
Advantages in the employment of drones for initial visual ship inspection
- Easier preparation of elements to be inspected, e.g. no need of scaffoldings or use of cherry picker, with potential reduction of costs
- Safer inspection operation, since the Surveyor is not required to physically access hazardous or hard to reach areas, e.g. height or very narrow spaces
- Reduced risk of damages related to the inspection preparation, e.g. coating damages due to scaffolding
RINA BACKGROUND
RINA has a long term experience in the field of robotic assisted ship inspection
- Since 2009 RINA has led a project aiming at providing a proof of concept of the possible employment of robotic platform in ship inspection
- The project has also developed dedicated prototypes of drones and software that have been further developed in the years
- RINA is currently cooperating with robotics industry stakeholders for addressing technological gaps that still represent a barrier to a wider adoption of this technology
FRAMEWORK OF ACTIVITIES
- Service supplier according to UR Z
- Specific aspects addressed in the certification of Service Suppliers operating with drones
- Definition of the intended inspection and of the spaces interested
- Preliminary risk assessment and agreement on the operational procedures
- Support for the selection of the most suitable drone type
- Verification of specific training and skills of the drone operator
SERVICES FOR DRONE ASSISTED INSPECTIONS
Assistance during the drone assisted inspection
- A trained Surveyor drives the drone operator for an optimal collection of visual information
Support to drone operators and manufacturers
- Analysis of the characteristics of the drone, including
- Flight capabilities and sensors equipment
- Video quality assessment
- Capabilities for reconstruction of 3D models
- Safety and cybersecurity aspects
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Technology Qualification
- Fit for purpose for novel types of drones
- Fit for purpose for novel types of equipment installed on the drone
Support to the development and testing of
- Enhanced sensors
- Selection of optimal sensor equipment
- Autonomous capabilities
- New robotic platforms
WORK IN PROGRESS
Testing Facility for an easy, fast and cheap assessment of novel robotic technologies
- No preliminary need of tests onboard ships
- Controlled and repeatable testing conditions and standardized metrics
Improvement of Human – Machine interface
- Virtual tours in 3D augmented reality
- Image processing for defect detection
- Address of technological gaps with the cooperation of drone
- Manufacturers and ICT industry
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Source: RINA
