Using drones, artificial intelligence, and digital twins, the partners in the Quali Drone innovation project have demonstrated a faster, cheaper, more efficient, and safer inspection method for the energy industry’s large structures.
This development offers an alternative to the current manual, expensive, and time-consuming inspection processes, which also pose risks to the involved employees.
“The solution found by the partners through the innovation project is in demand in the energy sector. But it is applicable in all industries where there are large structures and where the inspection process is costly or cumbersome,” says Christian Boysen, Project Director at Energy Cluster Denmark.
Potential Market Leader
Several other industries and sectors have noted the potential of Quali Drone’s inspection technology. Jesper Smit, who has transformed the combination of drone photography, scanning, and analysis into the company Quali Drone, which he owns, observes:
“The project has led to us having a technology today that can solve what we set out to solve and a company that is about to hire its fourth employee. It has moved from idea to product and concept, which we now have on the market. Not just the energy sector, but also construction, infrastructure, and much more,” he says.
Zebicon, which has contributed industrial measurement technology to the project, sees great potential for expanding the solution:
“If you ask the rhetorical question of whether measurements will be taken from drones in the future, the answer is obviously yes,” says Jeppe Hebsgaard Laursen, CEO:
“With the solutions we have found here, we can solve some issues for our customers that others do not address. I believe in the potential to become a market leader,” he says.
The innovation project is supported by EUDP.
“This project has only confirmed the many possibilities of digitization in the energy field. It’s really going to make a difference.”
– Kim Branner, Head of Structural Design & Testing, DTU Wind Institute for Wind and Energy Systems
The Quali Drone innovation project can streamline and improve the inspection of large structures while reducing the risk of working at heights using drones, AI, and digital twins. Many industries can benefit from this, says Jens Skoustrup-Jacobsen, COO at AI and software specialists Desupervised:
“It opens up a wealth of possibilities for practically applying AI. Now we have the technology – it’s just a matter of rolling it out,” he says.
Partners:
- Bladt Industries
- Quali Drone
- Zebicon
- Desupervised
- DTU Wind Energy
- Energy Cluster Denmark
Project Period: May 2019 – December 2022
Budget: Approximately DKK 14.4 million in total budget. The innovation project is supported by the EU Regional Fund, EUDP, and Region Midtjylland.
