Drones - The new ace for pipeline leak detection in India
India has a Crude Oil, Petroleum, and Natural Gas pipeline network of over 15,000 km spread throughout the country and another 15,000 km of pipelines are to be laid in the upcoming years as per the Ministry of Petroleum. Pipeline management is challenging and leaks, if not detected, could be hazardous as explosions have occurred in past times. The leak detection happens through the traditional labour-intensive methods. These turn out to be impractical due to:
Inaccessible areas
Slow processes
Human errors
Manned aircrafts too expensive
Unmanned Aerial Systems for management
With the advancement of technology, use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS’s) has come into application. UAV’s these days can generate High-Resolution Aerial imagery + 3D volume models and can carry specialized sensors like thermal cameras and Methane gas sensor to scan for damages and faults on pipelines. Some of the key benefits are:
Extremely fast-paced
Environment friendly
Safer
Easier to use
UAS’s are actively being used in Denmark, England, United States, Canada, Germany, Nigeria, Liberia and several other countries throughout the globe. Read Full…











