BFI VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH

Initial situation:

In order to visually inspect large structures for damage, typically working scaffolds are installed or specifically trained workers need to climb on the machine or structure at periodical intervals: taking a lot of time and money for material and personnel. Moreover, machines must be down for the inspection, resulting in indirect downtime costs. Visual inspection by workers has the disadvantage that potential damages are experienced subjectively by the person that is performing the task. To classify the degree of severity of a defect, the evolution of size and shape of the damage is highly relevant.
Crane systems in steel plants, for example, are exposed to heavy soiling and high wear. Smooth production processes require regular inspection of all components such as runways, ropes and hoists. These areas are often difficult to access due to their location at great heights. 

Project targets:

The objective of ROBOINSPECT is to introduce novel robotic inspection systems in the European steel industry. For this purpose, existing technologies based on unmanned vehicles are assigned to inspection tasks and technological gaps are closed by further developments. The aims are to reduce downtimes and increase occupational safety. Unmanned aerial and ground vehicles are developed for autonomous operation during running production in confined and hazardous areas, using custom indoor navigation concepts. Software is provided to accelerate damage analysis of facilities and processes as well as to detect online plant misalignments. The developments will be tested in two industrial plants in four typical use cases.