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Skygauge Drone

Skygauge robotics has reinvented the drone to perform inspections not practical with drones today. Drones are increasingly being used by companies to perform visual inspections, however, there has been limited industry adoption for drone based ultrasonic testing due to technical limitations. There is enormous market demand for drones to do more than just visual inspection due to the risk associated with the current methods of inspection.
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THE SKYGAUGE IS SAFER
Performing UT inspections at height puts workers at risk of slips or falls. Using UT inspection drones eliminates this risk by keeping workers safely on the ground.

MORE COST EFFECTIVE
Current methods require workers to use ropes, man lifts, or scaffolding, costing 5 or 6 figures for a single job. Most of these costs are associated with the access method. Drones eliminate these costs.

AND REDUCES DOWNTIME
A drone performs inspections 5 to 20 times faster resulting in lower maintenance downtime. for large industrial sites, this can save millions in opportunity cost.

Applications include;

  • Storage Tanks and Silos
  • Steel Chimneys and stacks
  • Flare Stacks
  • Ship Inspections
  • Pipe inspections
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Specification

Vertical and Horizontal Capabilities

The Skyguage’s payload arm can be rotated 90 degrees up and down, enabling inspections in tricky areas, such as the tops and bottoms of pipelines. This is where most of the erosion happens, making this a critical capability for the Skygauge UT inspection drone. Advanced stability control features, and cameras that pivot alongside the payload make it easy for pilots to fly Skygauge in vertical and horizontal regimes.

Angled Contact

In addition to the pivoting payload, the drone itself can use its gimballed thrust to tilt up or down, enabling inspection of sloped surfaces such as the roofs of storage tanks or the sides of pipes. This capability is critical, to ensure that the Skygauge is able to inspect any point, regardless of asset geometry.

Perform Inspections in GPS denied areas

The Skygauge performs UT readings without the need for GPS in areas with minimal wind. This use case is intended for intenal ship and tank inspections.

The Skygauge design naturally folds onto itself to fit into tighter spaces when not in operation. for extra access requriements the drone can be disassembled to fit in 55cm manways to enter most access hatches. The drone will then be reassembled inside the tank to begin the work.

UT Data collection: Waveform data

The Skygauge probe hosts several different systems and sensors to collect UT thickness data. Once the pilot navigated the drone into an inspection area, the pilot engages the contact mode. With the feedback from the forward facing LiDAR aid the drone moves forward at a fixed speed. Right before contact is made couplant is automatically dispensed.

During contact, the drone automatically adjusts its angle with feedback from the force sensor. These adjustments mimic the precision of hand tested readings. The live waveform is verified by the UT inspector and the pilot flies the drone to the next inspection point. All data is stored on an SD card that is exported to the inspection computer after the job is completed. The inspection computer automatically generates inspection reports with the data.

Payloads Include

  • Ultrasonic Testing
  • Dry Film Thickness
  • Cleaning wire brush
  • EMAT

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