Bristol-based Perceptual Robotics has given the wind inspections and maintenance industry a preview of its unique capabilities by holding exclusive demonstrations with potential partners in Spain.

The company, which has offices in the UK and Europe, welcomed eight companies from across Spain to take part in its demonstration day at Sotavento Experimental Wind Farm in Lugo, Spain. Perceptual Robotics’ engineers flew an M300 drone and used its unique Dhalion system to autonomously inspect a G47 wind turbine at the site last week

Two demonstrations were held altogether, with delegates given a first-hand preview of the system and an inspection as it happened in real time. The engineers then showed post-flight what data processing looked like and how inspection images and results were presented and analysed in the system’s web portal.

Perceptual Robotics’ CEO Kostas Karachalios said: “This was an excellent opportunity for different stakeholders in the industry to see up close how our system works in real operating conditions. We had people from across the industry attending, from asset and utility owners to drone companies and inspection organisations. By sharing our extensive experience of inspecting these massive structures, we can bring about the change the industry needs to make inspections more cost effective, timely and safer for all.”

The Dhalion system is designed to undertake autonomous in-depth turbine inspections, collecting high-quality data from turbines in less than 20min, and quickly analyse the data collected with ‘state of the art’ AI data processing.

Earlier this year, the company announced that the advanced technology of robotic systems and AI had proven to be almost 15% more accurate in detecting faults in wind turbines than humans thanks to an Innovate UK research and development project, which had been ongoing in collaboration between Perceptual Robotics and the University of Bristol.

Perceptual Robotics’ demonstration days are set to be the first of many moving forwards, with the company asking those interested in seeing the system first-hand to get in touch to arrange a meeting.