Advanced PV Modules Inspection Using Multirotor UAV

Large-scale PV fields are a complicated target for monitoring and performance evaluation. In this paper, field experience with multirotor UAV has been reported. A X-frame quadcopter equipped with various VIS and IR cameras is used to detect defects responsible for performance degradation. Usually in laboratory environment, hi-res VIS photos, EL photos and far- IR photos of single module are used for diagnostic purposes. However, on-field PV plant testing procedures need faster methods for batch processing. Our investigations confirm that new robotics and avionics equipment for close-range flights over PV modules combined with cameras can reveal hidden problems of materials quality and device reliability. Various new tasks, as high resolution aerial photography, 3D photogrammetry, 3D field and building reconstruction can be involved as testing methods for performance optimization of photovoltaic installations.