Camcopter S-100 integrated with Corona 350 sensor

The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been successfully integrated with the FLIR Corona 350 airborne sensor for a series of evaluation flights in Grossmittel, Austria. The testing showed that the combined capability of the two systems can enable aerial inspections to be carried out quickly and efficiently.

This is the first time the Corona 350 has been flown on board a UAV. The system is a four axis gyro-stabilised gimbal containing four different cameras. These include an ultraviolet camera for corona detection, a thermal imaging camera for detecting hot-spots in power lines, a visual light camera and a digital frame camera.

The Corona 350 has the ability to overlay its ultraviolet and colour TV video data to create a combined image that allows operators to detect and identify coronal discharges – areas of ionized air – that are known to damage power line insulators and other electrical components.

Schiebel believes that the combined systems present an efficient solution for customers operating in the transmission line inspection field, as a potential alternative to manned helicopter or ground vehicle survey teams.

The company said that the advantage of using the Camcopter S-100 UAS over manned helicopters are that ‘the system is uniquely capable of operating without any need for a prepared operating area, with up to 10 hours of endurance and line of site ranges out to 200kms, making the S-100 far more cost-effective than any manned alternative.’