Towards Remote Inspections of Maritime Vessels Using Drones Instrumented with Computer Vision and Hyperspectral Imaging

DNV GL has performed production surveys in enclosed spaces using drones since 2016, demonstrating cost savings and increased personnel safety. It is a vision to develop autonomous inspection drones to reduce the need to enter tanks. We expect that this will reduce survey duration and survey preparation costs for the clients and be a major safety improvement for surveyors. Several drone capabilities are required to enable visual close-up inspection and non-destructive testing in enclosed, GPS-denied, and poorly lit environments. In this study, we report the most recent status from an ongoing research project managed by DNV GL and including several industry partners. We highlight technical challenges and preliminary results on drone navigation functionalities, computer vision for detection of cracks, and the use of hyperspectral imaging to detect rust mechanisms and the chemical composition of coatings.