•  
Albatroz Engineering
  •     Albatroz Engineering, Research, Development & Innovation   

EASA Part 21 DOA
 
EASA 21J.400
CONNECTING PEOPLE, BUSINESSES, KNOWLEDGE THROUGH INNOVATION.

Albatroz Engineering logoAbout Us

Albatroz Engineering specializes in robotics, aeronautics, signal processing and computer science applied to the analysis of power line grids and 3D modeling with LiDAR.

It is team of 21 persons based in Lisbon, Portugal.

Learn more.

ASLMS2009 modelEnvironmental issues around over-head lines

When transmission and distribution utilities achieve the highest standards in quality of service, measured in SAIFI, SAIDI or Equivalent Interruption Duration (or Time), the number of events due to asset condition is superseded by events coming from the environment, which should be regarded in a broad sense.

This is Albatroz Engineering's approach, mirrored on its first application for LiDAR based vegetation management, a key component of Power Line Maintenance Inspection.

Storks on 30kV towerSoon afterwards, the focus turned to storks who happen to be very fond of high voltage towers, and telephone poles too. Storks add significant challenges that stimulate some original, if not odd, solutions to reach satisfactory coexistence between birds and power lines.

Bushfires (=wildfires), pollution and lightning add further to the complexity of the analysis of the grid condition and to the requirements of power line inspections.

Vegetation compatible with over-head line right of way. Photo by RENEnvironmental challenges are the subject of publications on vegetation at CMDM2013 (Romenia), on computer vision for stork nests at ConfeTELE 2013 (Portugal), on risk assessment at CIGRE2012 Canada and EEEIC 2012 (Italy), just to mention the more recent.

Such environmental concerns shape the activitiy of the company altogether, as stated.

clearance issuePinpoint clearance issues

One of the most valuable results of Power Line Maintenance Inspection is the ability to pinpoint exactly the location of each clearance violation, including in real-time during inspection flights, if required. LiDAR helps measure distances to nearby objects and signal processing performs real-time classification of objects.

clearance violation video This feature helps maintenance teams streamline their work and head directly to the tree, knowing how much to trim: the example shows a 2,33m distance when 5m was specified. The nature of the tree can be inspected from the video image (acquired at the same location as the above LiDAR based image). This capability is important to forecast tree growth rates.

Vegetation management teams involved in preventive maintenance aggregate sets clearance issues according to severity and distance to neighbours to create effective routines.

ASLMS2009 modelAbout the ASLMS2009

The Airborne Sweeping Laser Measurement System [ASLMS] is a compact hardware system to be mounted on helicopters for power line clearance inspection (= right of way inspection) and 3D modeling of outdoor environments.

It includes LiDAR, GPS, Attitude Heading and Reference System [AHRS] and video camera. It has been designed in three different variants (2007, 2009 and 2011), depending on aircraft used and integration with the clients' hardware.

Learn more about the ASLMS product range.

The same set of sensors can be adapted to other vectors, namely ground vehicles or unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV] to fit particular operation requirements.

Chaplin project logoProject Chaplin

The goal of Project CHAPLIN is to use Long Range Ultrasound Testing to detect hidden defects inside conductor cables on over-head lines. The project is sponsored by the 7th Framework Program of the European Union.

Learn more at the Project CHAPLIN website.

5 x 5 puzzleFun corner

Take a break to solve a classical puzzle, now with a power line theme.

This photograph was taken during a regular visual and clerance inspection on a 220kV transmission line.

Let's play!

SINCE 2006.
©2014 Albatroz Engineering Inc. All rights reserved. site map webmaster