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A Robot Inspects Wind Energy Converters (Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Germany)
The material of wind energy converters must withstand intense forces. Are rotor blades damaged? A new robot inspects wind energy converters more precisely than a human ever could. It detects the minutest damage – even below the surface. It appears reliably and appears alone. Nimbly and quickly, it pulls itself up a rope meter for meter until it reaches a wind energy converter’s giant rotor blades. Then it goes to work. It thoroughly inspects every centimetre of the rotor blades’ surface. Nothing escapes it. It registers any crack and any de-lamination in the material and relays their exact positions. In this job, a robot is superior to humans
Until now, humans have inspected wind energy converters at regular intervals – not an easy job. After all, the technicians must closely examine large surfaces – a rotor blade can be up to 60 meters long – in airy heights. The advantage of this system: It can perform its job on any wind energy converter – regardless of whether it is large or small, on land or offshore. The robot always delivers an exact log of the rotor blades’ condition, keeping humans safe and not missing any damage.
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