Marine Maintenance Technology International - April 2016

(^14) ⠿ MARINE MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL | APRIL

⠿ UAV INSPECTIONS
MAIN IMAGE: A drone inspects a ship’s cargo
hold. The images captured can pinpoint areas
needing closer inspection
INSET ABOVE: Guards protect the drone’s
propellers in case of contact with objects
RIGHT: The drone can stream live video for
viewing on a tablet during and after the flight
has to be able to be seen and has to be able
to receive GPS signals, for example.
“We still have to go and look at critical
areas where it is needed, for example where
thickness measurements have to be taken.
But these are not needed throughout all
areas and if the drone is able to tell us that
the coating is undamaged it can be enough
in some areas. The images we get are
equivalent to seeing the structure
from a distance of about five
meters with the human eye. We
will consider the use of adding
other sensors when that
becomes viable – possibly
to measure thickness or
if something is able to
discover cracks in metal.
“The biggest advantage
is that the owner can
reduce the amount of
staging required. It will
only need to be built when
there is visual evidence of
damage and inspectors have
to go up with a hammer and
touch the steel.
“For now we are focusing on
larger tanker ships and bulkers as that
will give the most immediate benefit. It is too
early to say how much time will be saved,
but reduction in the amount of staging
required will be a huge benefit.
“We are hoping to be able to develop our
first fully tailor-made drone and have it in
testing by summer. There is more work to
be done but we are hoping that by the end
of this year or early 2017 we will be ready
to start rolling out the tools. Full use of the
technology is definitely coming.”
DNV GL already uses its IRIS system to
automatically associate photos on board
a ship with a 3D model of the vessel’s
structure. “Using a drone in combination
with a system like IRIS could be very
beneficial to our customers,” says Dr
Pierre C Sames, DNV GL’s director of
group technology and research. “We have
already demonstrated the ability to place
images within a 3D model and assess the
individual findings. These are the first steps
toward an automated survey process might
include using a drone to make the initial
survey, taking the images generated and
then running them through an algorithm to
determine the hull condition.”
ABS
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is
also working to adopt drones to facilitate
internal and external inspections.
Michael Lee, principal engineer for
ABS, says the technology will help to
identify problem areas more rapidly. ABS is