Automated 24/7 inspection of a solar park
Thanks to a drone solution from Autonomous Reply, the Neue Energie West solar park now benefits from efficient, AI-supported monitoring - completely autonomously and around the clock.
#automated drones
#solar park
#24/7 monitoring
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Automate the monitoring of the solar park and thus enable continuous inspection of the entire system
The scenario
Using solar energy efficiently with the help of drones
Regular maintenance is essential for solar parks. Damage and contamination can quickly lead to reduced electricity production. This is why the use of drones has proven its worth in this area. This is also true for the Neue Energie West solar park, where a drone already enables extensive monitoring from the air, which also serves to safeguard the systems. However, as this drone is dependent on manual control, monitoring cannot take place around the clock. The operator was therefore looking for a solution that would automate the operation of the drone.
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The solution
AI-based monitoring
A single drone now monitors the 17,000 modules at the Neue Energie West solar park fully automatically and around the clock. This is made possible by a AI-supported drone solution from Autonomous Reply. It enables the drone, which is permanently stationed on site, to patrol independently at all times, detect defective panels, check fences, detect unauthorized persons or check the condition of the lawn. If it identifies damage or a problem, the drone displays this on a dashboard and automatically creates a ticket. This allows the operator to react quickly and avoid downtime. In addition, employees who previously had to be on site can focus on more value-added activities.
How we achieved this
Customized AI modules - safe in the cloud
The solution is based on a variety of advanced edge AI modules. Autonomous Reply's experts have trained these individually to adapt the solution precisely to the customer's needs. All data was analyzed and stored in the cloud in full compliance with GDPR. The appropriate hardware was provided by DJI, an important cooperation partner of Autonomous Reply and the world's leading manufacturer of camera drones.
The result
Easy and efficient inspections
Thanks to the AI-supported drone solution, the Neue Energie West solar park now benefits from the following advantages:
24/7 operational readiness of the drone on site
Fully automated inspection operations
Convenient mission planning remotely
Rapid response in the event of malfunctions or problems
Autonomous creation of tickets
Unique insights from a bird's eye view
NEW - Neue Energien West eG is an inter-municipal co-operative of 17 towns and municipalities from the districts of Neustadt a. d. Waldnaab, Tirschenreuth and Amberg-Sulzbach. The members are actively involved in the planning and operation of renewable energy generation plants. Particular attention is paid to regional value creation, true to the motto "From the region for the region".
Within the Reply Group, Autonomous Reply is the specialised company for the software and system integration of autonomous things. The experts advise companies in the industrial, automotive and new mobility sectors from the sensor to the infrastructure. The portfolio includes holistic solutions across the entire value chain – from strategy definition and advice on application possibilities to design and implementation. The offer includes edge computing, embedded software, cloud services and integration into different eco-systems. State-of-the-art technologies and methods from the fields of deep learning, machine learning and computer vision are used.