News / drones
Bristol startup launches ‘revolutionary’ autonomous drone system
An aerospace company on a mission to produce innovative solutions to industry problems has launched a “revolutionary new tool”.
Perceptual Robotics, based at Future Space in Stoke Gifford, has developed a new autonomous drone system to collect high-quality data from wind turbines that bosses say could drastically reduce costs and improve safety for the wind energy sector.
The company that emerged from the University of Bristol and incubated its technologies at Bristol Robotics Laboratory says the drone can collect data from turbines in less than 20 minutes and contains safety features designed to avoid any potential collision with the turbine.
The drone is named ‘DOT’ after two prominent female engineers: Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician and NASA’s first black manager, and Britain’s Dorothy Spicer, the first woman to gain an advanced qualification in aeronautical engineering.
DOT will be officially unveiled for the first time at the Wind Europe event taking place from April 5-7 in Bilbao, Spain.
The new drone system has been designed to collect high-quality data from turbines in less than 20 minutes – photo: Perceptual Robotics
Kostas Karachalios, the CEO of Perceptual Robotics, said: “We have been working on this innovative product for a number of years. It has been a huge goal for the company to be able to offer this level of system for our customers.
“We also wanted to make DOT simple and easy for our customers to use ‘off the shelf’, thereby removing dependence on the skills of the operator to determine the quality of the turbine inspection.
“It is a revolutionary new tool that complements and adds to existing industry services.”
The DOT drone inspection system will be ready for shipping to customers in May following its showcase at Wind Europe.
Main photo: Perceptual Robotics
Read more: The Bristol centre at the forefront of innovation in business
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