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TOPseven's Patented Method for Wind Turbine Reference Data
CAD data isn't enough for precision drone inspections. TOPseven's German-patented optical method captures all essential turbine parameters in minutes, enabling AI to generate site-specific models for fully autonomous flights.
Oliver Neubauer
Head of Software Development
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TOPseven's Method for Optical Capture of Reference Data on Wind Turbines Receives German Patent
TOPseven's method for optical capture of reference data from objects was granted a German patent (DE 10 2020 210 618) in March 2022.
To calculate detailed flight routes for autonomous drone inspections of wind turbines, specific positional data from various areas of the turbine is required. CAD data alone is often insufficient for this purpose, as components like rotor blades are permanently exposed to physical forces—even when not in operation. For this reason, a site-specific model of each turbine must be created.
Through an optical method developed by TOPseven, the essential characteristics of a wind turbine can be captured within minutes via a reference flight. Based on this data, artificial intelligence then automatically generates a turbine-specific model that enables fully autonomous inspection flights.
The patented "Method and System for Object Detection" captures the following reference data:
Exact GPS coordinates of the tower center
Hub height and hub diameter
Orientation (heading/azimuth angle)
Center point and diameter of rotor blade flanges
Length, pitch, and position of rotor blades
Rotor blade thickness and chord width
Using this data, a detailed flight route for autonomous operations can be generated. This is the prerequisite for automated, drone-based inspections of wind turbines—or any other asset.
