UVEye
Lite

The Best Corona UAV Solution – UVEye Lite

We have partnered with OFIL, the world leader of UV inspection instruments, to develop a low altitude UV Corona discharge detection solution. Used for the detection of early component failure or faulty manufacturing of conductors and insulators caused by the ionization of the air where the electrical field exceeds a critical value.

This effect is invisible to the human eye as it occurs in a very narrow spectrum band. The corona camera has very precise filters to allow this frequency to be detected and overlayed with a live image. The UV Eye Lite, is based around OFIL's DayCor Swift camera which is a compact sensitive UV detection camera. UV Eye Lite was designed to allow all the data streams and controls to be transmitted and controlled in real-time to the ground.

ROMeye Lite has been designed as an entry level solution specifically for the Power Utilities and Electrified Railway Industries to allow asset inspection where visibility on the ground is limited and or dangerous or the cost for traditional aerial inspection by helicopter is prohibitively expensive.

Solution Characteristics:

• - Complete power line inspection tool with sensitive Visible-UVc bi-spectral detection apparatus and absolute solar blind performance
• - Performs accurately and reliably in high speed and from distance of 25m without smearing the image and with high pinpointing resolution
• - Equipped with Ofil’s narrow angle optical lenses through which the exact pinpointing of corona/arcing emitters from distances—is possible.
• - 3 axis feature film grade gyroscopically stabilized systems that eliminate aircraft shakings and jerky motions and provides rock solid video feed
• - Optimised solution with low system weight and extended mission endurance with real-time camera control and video data links for in-flight optimisation

Features:

• - Fit for inspection under any light conditions
• - Multiple redundancy systems
• - Ballistic parachute failsafe
• - Ultra bright LCD for high quality image display (both pilot & operator)
• - Manual and Automatic focus for both UV and Visible channels in-flight
• - Special rapid zooming capability for the visible feed
• - Blob counting and display for evaluation of the corona strength<
• - Video recording output option for post review
• - Reporting software with localization
• - Full remote control operations
• - UV only, Visible only and combined UV + Visible modes
• - Rugged transportation case
• - Accessories: GPS, title editor

Benefits:

• - Accurately pinpoints sources of: audio noise, radio/TV interference, micro arcing, corona and arcing
• - Offers robust inspection capabilities independent of power line loads and weather condition
• - Fly in a safe distance and high speed without missing coronas

Background:

Localised airborne inspection of high voltage lines and substations in remote or harsh terrain and saves inspection time and labour by allowing a site wide inspection very rapidly through use of high sensitive tools. The ROMeye system has been developed for specific technical considerations such as:

• - Corona, being an intermittent phenomenon with typical repetition rate, is tricky to observe. The faster you fly the greater is the chance to miss a problematic spot. Scanning at lower speed yields more detailed information but the covered distance will decrease. The OFIL DayCor Swift is a very sensitive camera solution for it is sensitive enough to allow localised aerial inspection.
• - To make the best of airborne inspection recorded videos are necessary. It is always surprising to retrieve unnoticed things while flying. The OFIL Swift provides high resolution, full VGA standard video friendly MPEG1 format.
• - Viewing from a single point often means that corona failure points are missed as they are easily obscured, by travelling around assets they are seen from all angles and therefore identifiable.

The drone (UAV) aircraft is built from the best quality components and has become the preferred airframe for expensive payload such as feature films camera systems.The airframe can be configured to allow multiple levels of safety systems such as low altitude ballistic recovery parachute system, redundant control unit, dual power systems will full power battery fail over, etc. The DayCor ROMpact corona camera is mounted on a 3-axis gimbal is the lightest and most powerful gimbal in its class for aerial applications.

Thanks to ultra high-resolution encoder up to 0.005 degree and advanced motor control in combination with ultra accurate IMU sensor, it produces amazingly smooth footage on a new level of stability in even the most demanding situations. 

Whilst the system comes with a real-time data link that allows the ground based operators to see real-time video, we also have a separate radio link to allow remote control of the corona camera whilst in flight.

System Configuration Options:-