NORCE is leading a four-year research project, RIWUP, on sensor technology to simplify power posts inspection process and enhance the identification process of rotten wooden posts for replacement. The RIWUP project is partly-financed by the Research Council of Norway. Among the project activities, a joint team from NORCE and Agder Enirgi Nett conducted the first round of data collection for analysis within RIWUP project. The activity took place in a residential area at Lund in Kristiansand. Advanced radar and thermal scanning technologies were used during the data sampling trip. Manual inspection costs Agder Energi Nett millions of kroners every year, as the process requires individual inspection of power wooden posts in wide areas. The radar and thermal scanning technologies are to be used for remote inspection form the air in the foreseen future. Agder Enirgi Nett is looking to use these technologies for examining the health of over 200,000 power poles that comprise its grid in the region. The possibility of scanning the wooden posts automatically by helicopter or drones, will lead to large savings for the energy company. could be saved.
Researcher Boyan Yuan from NORCE was collecting samples using thermal camera. In the image below, she is checking the result image on the PC screen from scanning a rotten pole (using a thermal camera device).
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