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Vessel Inspection: A Micro-Aerial Vehicle-based Approach

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Abstract

Vessel maintenance entails periodic visual inspections of the internal and external parts of the hull in order to detect the typical defective situations affecting metallic structures, such as coating breakdown, corrosion, cracks, etc. The main goal of project MINOAS is the automation of the inspection process, currently undertaken by human surveyors, by means of a fleet of robotic agents. This paper overviews an approach to the inspection problem based on an autonomous Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) which, as part of this fleet, is in charge of regularly supplying images that can teleport the surveyor from a base station to the areas of the hull to be inspected. The control software approach adopted for the MAV is fully described, with a special emphasis on the self-localization capabilities of the vehicle. Experimental results showing the suitability of the platform to the application are as well reported and discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Balearic Islands, Cra. Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Alberto Ortiz, Francisco Bonnin-Pascual & Emilio Garcia-Fidalgo

Authors
  1. Alberto Ortiz
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  2. Francisco Bonnin-Pascual
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  3. Emilio Garcia-Fidalgo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alberto Ortiz.

Additional information

This work has been partially supported by the European Social Fund through grants FPI10-43175042V and FPI11-4312 3621R (Conselleria d’Educació, Cultura i Universitats, Govern de les Illes Balears), and by FP7 projects MINOAS (GA 233715) and INCASS (GA 605200).

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Ortiz, A., Bonnin-Pascual, F. & Garcia-Fidalgo, E. Vessel Inspection: A Micro-Aerial Vehicle-based Approach. J Intell Robot Syst 76, 151–167 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-013-9852-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-013-9852-4

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