Swiss unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology company Sulzer Schmid has introduced its latest 3DX AutoPilot, upgraded with a new image capturing system and designed to ensure exceptionally clear inspection results.

Mounted on a DJI Matrice M350 Enterprise drone, the new payload provides up to 61 MP resolution images and includes precise adaptive focus and optimised exposure settings for each image, allowing the drone to be positioned even closer to the blade.

The company explains that the high-tech tool aims to address the challenge of automated camera settings which can sometimes cause blurred images and says its 3DX AutoPilot sets a new standard for inspection data quality.

Parameters such as International Organization for Standardisation, or ISO, settings, aperture, and shutter speed are individually set for each image to ensure optimum exposure even for zoomed in images. The helps to ensure improved image quality in terms of sharpness, image density, dynamic range, and exposure accuracy, making it easier to identify and classify damages with greater precision. This reduces the risk of not identifying damage or wrongly interpreting inspection data, ensuring that poorly planned or incorrectly executed repairs are minimised.

The new image capturing system aims to ensure that even hairline cracks ­(which can be indicative of early damage) are easier to detect, allowing for preventive and less costly maintenance to be scheduled at an early stage.  

Sulzer Schmid co-founder and CEO Tom Sulzer stated: "Our commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation in the wind energy sector is vividly realised in our latest inspection solution. This is not just an upgrade; it's a revolution in precision and in the way we approach blade inspections— a fast and reliable inspection process, best-in-class image quality and powerful analytics capabilities, all wrapped up in an intuitive digital inspection platform boosted by AI and machine learning."