- Autonomous indoor navigation system drone flies indoors without a pilot
- Internal oil tank inspections can be done safely by autonomous drones eliminating the need for humans inside the tank
Houston, Texas, Oct. 21, 2019 / Commercial UAV Expo Americas, Exhibitor Press Releases/ — NT Robotics is excited to announce its Autonomous indoor navigation system developed to allow drones to perform technical inspections inside oil tanks, mines, subways, warehouses, etc., in conditions where there are no maps, light, GPS, pilot, or pre-existing maps.
Three years ago a Dutch startup asked NTR to develop a UAV navigation system for inspecting oil reservoirs. Ordinary drones could not navigate there, because GPS, compass and radio signals do not work inside oil tanks. NTR developed unique indoor UAV control software that includes precision positioning, fully covered surface flying algorithms, obstacle flying algorithms, an intelligent image stabilization system, and improved image quality in low light conditions.
Product line:
NAVIGATION KIT can be installed on any robot or drone to provide autonomous indoor navigation capability in good lighting conditions.
PAYLOAD KIT includes the navigation kit and a sensitive global-shutter camera synchronized with a powerful light source. It can be installed on any drone to provide indoor navigation capability in total darkness. Also allows the drone to perform surface coverage with high-quality imagery for technical inspection purposes.
SMALL INDUSTRIAL DRONE – a turnkey 24” drone for technical inspection of tanks.
LARGE INDUSTRIAL DRONE a turnkey 32” drone for technical inspections.
Technology
The technology is based on Computer vision and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM).
Technology does not require preliminary map preparation. The drone is equipped with many sensors that help it determine the location, tilt, altitude and other parameters important for the flight, even in multi-tiered and multistoried buildings.
Navigation system consists of scanning lidars, stereo camera, IMU, flashlight, onboard computer + software.
The following upgrades to the products were made based on customer feedback after the Commercial UAV Expo in Amsterdam this April.
- 2D lidar was changed to 3D lidar. On 2D lidar the drone saw only an approximate perimeter of the room. 3D lidar shows the wall completely, including all irregularities, openings, etc.
- Replaced the original two rangefinders (one measured the distance to the floor and the other to the ceiling) with 2D lidar. The lidar not only measures the distance to the floor and ceiling, but also sees their irregularities. The change provides 360 degree coverage, since 3D lidar sees only the sides, while 2D lidar sees both top and bottom.
The changes allow the drone to build a full-fledged 3-dimensional MAP, with no need for a flat or horizontal floor.
Advantages of tank inspection via UAV:
- Requires no human action inside the tank during technical inspection
- Requires no human pilot or other human intervention
- High resolution and quality images
- Precise location images and defects to the plan and 3D model
Applications:
Technical inspections: oil storage, furnaces, buildings, construction structures, bridges, mines, tunnels, quarries, underground structures, subways, mining enterprises, sea tankers, ships, planes, etc.
Public security
Warehouse inventory
Rescue operations
Indoor delivery
Indoor video shoots
About NT Robotics
NT Robotics is a spin-off of NTR Lab, a software development company. The NT Robotics team developed autonomous indoor navigation system for drones. NT Robotics has created a new generation of AI-based products for industrial purposes.
Website: NT Robotics
For further information, please contact:
NTR CRO, Yana Kazantseva: [email protected].
Media contact:
NTR Marketing Manager, Daria Petrova: [email protected].
Visit NT Robotics at the Commercial UAV Expo Americas, Booth: 736
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