Eco Factor: Wind turbine inspecting robot.
Recently news surfaced that a wind turbine in England was hammered by an alien spacecraft. We don’t want to unravel any answers to the ET mystery here, but we just want to acknowledge the fact that wind turbines have always been subjected to degradation which can any day result in a catastrophe. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operations and Automation in Germany have got an answer that can put an end to the claims of aliens hitting wind turbines, or maybe just confirm it. These researchers have developed a one-of-a-kind robot known as the RIWEA that can climb wind turbine poles and inspect the rotor blades for even the smallest of cracks.
The glass fiber reinforced plastic robot is equipped with countless sensors, including a thermal imaging camera and an infrared radiation, which together generate a temperature pattern that notifies of any disorders on or beneath the surface of the blades. RIWEA can automatically climb up a rope to reach the turbine blades and inspect them, saving people from climbing tens of meters to reach the top of a turbine only to check the outer layers of the blades. So if you live nearby a wind farm, this is the time when you can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Dark Side:
The robot will definitely improve the performance of wind turbines, making them safe and green at the same time. The efforts put in by the researchers are sincerely commendable.
Via: CleanTechnica
