Solar panel inspection using unmanned aerial vehicles

Methods, systems, and program products of inspecting solar panels using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are disclosed. A UAV can obtain a position of the Sun in a reference frame, a location of a solar panel in the reference frame, and an orientation of the solar panel in the reference frame. The UA...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser:	Michini, Bernard J, Blanc-Paques, Fabien, Steakley, Edward Dale
Format:	Patent
Sprache:	eng
Schlagworte:	CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER ELECTRICITY GENERATION GENERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER BY CONVERSION OF INFRA-REDRADIATION, VISIBLE LIGHT OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT, E.G. USINGPHOTOVOLTAIC [PV] MODULES INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES MEASURING PHYSICS TESTING
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:	Methods, systems, and program products of inspecting solar panels using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are disclosed. A UAV can obtain a position of the Sun in a reference frame, a location of a solar panel in the reference frame, and an orientation of the solar panel in the reference frame. The UAV can determine a viewing position of the UAV in the reference frame based on at least one of the position of the Sun, the location of the solar panel, and the orientation of the solar panel. The UAV can maneuver to the viewing position and point a thermal sensor onboard the UAV at the solar panel. The UAV can capture, by the thermal sensor, a thermal image of at least a portion of the solar panel. A server onboard the UAV or connected to the UAV can detect panel failures based on the thermal image.