Unlocking Inspection Automation Through Omnidirectional Sensors
You may be scratching your head now wondering; I thought most drone operations were already automated- and you’d be right. However, those are usually when the subject is on the ground. If you want to inspect and capture consistent results of a building facade, well, that’s a different ballgame. Facade inspections need to be automated because you need to capture images at precise intervals. When you’re flying manually, it can be tough to achieve the same level of consistency and accuracy. To automate this, the FEDS team used a third-party system. But, this wouldn’t be possible without the six directional or omnidirectional sensors of the DJI Matrice 300 RTK. The directional sensing and positioning of the M300 RTK helped keep the drone safe and sound, preventing the matrice 300 RTK from drifting into the tower or even the building beside it. The 6 directional sensing positioning has made operations more adaptable than ever before and empowered safe automation.
Weatherability: Fly It In Light Rain or Snow
Weather is a significant factor of drone operations. Typically a pilot would check the weather forecast ahead of time, about a week in advance to get in an idea of the conditions and decide whether flight would be possible. Unfortunately, forecasts don’t always play out as predicted. However, with the DJI M300 RTK, you have some leeway in terms of climate variance.
You still can’t fly in heavy wind or rainfall, but you can still brave drizzles or light snow. This benefit is more useful in areas where light rain or snow is a more common occurrence. Instead of putting your operations on hold with the M300 RTK, you can brave harsh weather conditions and capture consistent and accurate data.
DJI M300 RTK: A Powerful Vision System You Can Rely On
One of the underrated upgrades with the M300 RTK is the improved FPV camera. When you compare it with the Inspire, you can see that the DJI Matrice 300 RTK provides higher resolution video. This enhanced feature helps the FEDS pilots capture consistent results every time.
Sheraz Mohamed, Pilot & Utility Inspection Engineer “When you’re on the field inspecting OHTL towers occasionally, it may seem like the powerlines are intersecting”. In these situations being able to fly with just the FPV feed lets the mission proceed without interruptions. The powerlines and features can be intricate and small, which wouldn’t show up on lower resolution feeds- the improved FPV camera of the DJI Matrice 300 RTK empowers the pilot with aviation-grade situational awareness.
Advanced Dual Control
One of my favorite or more fascinating possibilities with the M300 is the Dual Control Model. When the inspecting subjects are situated in complex environments, the pilots team-up, where one of them controls the drone while the other operates the gimbal collecting data. However, an even more interesting comes up when you take into account the improved transmission system.
A specific example is along the mountains of Fujairah, where the FEDS team was conducting yet another powerline inspection. In the mountainous region accessibility is limited and the varying elevations can pose a challenge even to the powerful Matrice 300 RTK. In this example, pilots were stationed at strategic locations ready to assume drone control. Working in tandem while playing to the advantages of the drone allowed the pilots to complete the mission efficiently and effectively.
Reliable Even in Harsh Conditions
Finally, the ‘reliability’ cherry on top is how resilient the M300 is to Electromagnetic Interference. When you’re flying around high voltage powerlines, EMI is a real and constant threat to your drone. We’ve had drones unexpectedly drop and crash due to the interference, and there really is no predicting an EMI event. The best you can do is keep a safe, safe distance and continue with your mission. But, as we mentioned earlier, assets on powerlines can often be small, intricate, and complex objects.
Just zooming in will result in lost resolution and missed faults. The M300 RTK sets a whole new record when it comes to its reliability, enabling you to fly closer than ever before to powerlines and OHTL towers, allowing you to capture data with impeccable accuracy. The improved accuracy can prevent catastrophic failures and line shutdowns.
Redundancy Systems for Safer Flights
