Sulzer Schmid makes drone use more efficient

More and more wind turbines are generating an increasingly larger proportion of electricity production worldwide. These wind turbines are often in locations that are difficult to access, making inspections expensive. Operators are therefore increasingly using drones to inspect wind turbine rotor blades for damage. Sulzer Schmid Laboratories has developed an inspection platform for programming drones and automatically translating their images into data. This existing 3DX Ultra-HD platform can be used for particularly important inspections, such as when selling wind parks or when warranty periods expire.

As Sulzer Schmid writes in a press release, this ultra-HD platform has been complemented by the new 3DX HD platform. Like its predecessor, it enables the error-free, repeatable inspection of 100% of the blade. Since it dispenses with ultra high-definition images, the new platform is considerably more cost efficient and enables a larger number of wind turbines to be inspected. The product is also compact enough to be transported in normal suitcases.

Tom Sulzer and Christof Schmid founded Oetwil am See-based Sulzer Schmid Laboratories in 2015. Since then its 3DX platform has been used for thousands of inspection flights. “Our technology produces high-definition image quality that is superior to any other inspection method”, says Tom Sulzer in the press release.