Drones to detect corrosion on ships

Panama continues to innovate! Isthmian engineers have developed a platform that detects corrosion on ships using drones and hyperspectral technology.

It is about the project “Development of a platform for rapid inspection of maritime vessels based on remote sensing techniques”, which won the public call for the promotion of logistics mission-oriented research and development (IOML) Senacyt 2020.

An innovative system that uses drones equipped with hyperspectral technology to detect the level of corrosion on the metal surfaces of ships.

It was developed by research engineers from Technological University of Panama (UTP)affiliated with the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies in Science, Engineering and Technology (CEMCIT AIP) and funded by the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

This project has as a general goal prototype development for the rapid and automated identification of imperfections in the hull and structural elements of marine vessels using remote sensing techniques to simplify the inspection process, they reported in a press release.

Pictures taken with a camera a drone that uses hyperspectral technology they are then analyzed by AI-based computer vision algorithms to identify points of interest.

“Every five years, naval vessels are subjected mandatory examinations in order to maintain its continuous operation and comply with international regulations,” highlights the main researcher, Dr. Fernando Arias, professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at UTP, researcher associated with CEMCIT AIP and member of the Research Group on Advanced Telecommunication Technologies and Signal Processing (GITTS) at UTP.

He adds: “You are inspections, which are carried out in dry dock, aim to ensure the structural integrity of the ships and enable the performance of all necessary maintenance or repair work”.

“With this project we try to use time waiting times experienced by cargo ships before and/or during transit through the Panama Canal,” points out Dr. Arias, a member of Senacyt’s National Investigation System (SNI).

This waiting time ensures a valuable opportunity create added value by conducting pre-inspection processes for maritime vessels,” he also notes.

support

Dr. Mayteé Zambrano, Dr. Carlos Medina and mag. Carlos Plazaola, researchers from UTP.

Additionally, there is the collaboration of Dr. Luis De Gracia from the International Maritime University of Panama (UMIP). Students Edward Guevara, Gabriel Tuzlaci, Fernando Guiraud, Kim Vega, Juan Franco and Madeleyne Aguirre from UTP also participated.