Method and system for inspecting a surface area for material defects

1. A method for inspecting a surface with a known position for material defects using a camera configuration arranged on an unmanned aircraft which is navigated autonomously, comprising:

automatically flying the unmanned aircraft from a starting location to the surface, wherein during the automatic flying obstacles are avoided using automatic detection of obstacles and avoidance measures;

continuously measuring a distance between the unmanned aircraft and the surface using at least a distance sensor;

recording a sequence of images of the surface, wherein the aircraft is moved along a flight path in relation to the surface in such a way that the images of the sequence have at least partially overlapping image details of the surface in overlap regions;

compiling the recorded sequence of images to form an overall image of the surface; and

inspecting the surface for defects and a localization of defects using the overall image,

wherein the distance between the unmanned aircraft and the surface is regulated continuously so that the unmanned aircraft maintains a predefined distance and a predefined orientation in relation to the surface, and the flight path runs essentially parallel to the surface such that the images of the sequence are recorded approximately from the same perspective,

wherein the camera configuration has a plurality of individual cameras which are used to navigate the unmanned aircraft and for said recording of the sequence of images of the surface, and

wherein the camera configuration is adjustable electrically.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the automatic detection of obstacles and automatic avoidance of obstacles is controlled by a sense-and-avoid system of the unmanned aircraft,

the sense-and-avoid system is initially in a navigation mode in which in which it flies automatically toward the surface or flies back to the takeoff location, and

after flying toward the surface, the sense-and-avoid system is switched to an inspection mode in which images of the surface are recorded.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the camera configuration includes at least two cameras that record the sequence of images of the surface.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the surface is a rotor blade of a wind turbine.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein after recording the sequence of images, the unmanned aircraft is flown back to the takeoff location or another rotor blade is approached in flight to record another sequence of images.

6. A system for inspecting a surface with a known position for material defects, wherein the system comprises:

an aircraft with a control unit configured to fly in a navigation mode automatically toward the surface, starting from a takeoff location and to automatically detect obstacles during the flight and to avoid the obstacles; wherein the aircraft comprises a camera configuration and a distance sensor,

wherein the distance sensor is configured to determine a distance between the aircraft and the surface after flying toward the surface,

wherein the control unit is configured to automatically move the aircraft along a flight path in relation to the surface in an inspection mode and to record a sequence of partially overlapping images of the surface and while doing to measure the distance between the aircraft and the surface corresponding to each image, wherein the images are assembled to form an overall image of the surface in order to permit an inspection of the surface for defects and a localization of defects on the basis of the overall image,

wherein the distance between the aircraft and the surface is regulated continuously so that the aircraft maintains a predefined distance and a predefined orientation in relation to the surface, and the flight path runs essentially parallel to the surface such that the images of the sequence are recorded approximately from the same perspective,

wherein the camera configuration has a plurality of individual cameras which are used to navigate the aircraft and to record the sequence of images of the surface, and

wherein the camera configuration is adjustable electrically.

7. The system according to claim 6 , further comprising:

a memory unit arranged in the aircraft and configured to store images recorded by the camera configuration; or

a radio module arranged in the aircraft that is configured to transmit images recorded by the camera configuration to a radio receiver.

8. A method for inspecting a surface with known position for material defects using a camera configuration arranged on an aircraft, this method comprising:

flying the aircraft from a takeoff location toward the surface;

continuously measuring a distance between the aircraft and the surface using at least a distance sensor;

recording a sequence of images of the surface; and

automatically or visually inspecting the surface for defects and a localization of defects using an overall image created from the sequence of images of the surface,

wherein the distance between the aircraft and the surface is regulated continuously so that the aircraft maintains a predefined distance and a predefined orientation in relation to the surface, and the flight path runs essentially parallel to the surface such that the images of the sequence are recorded approximately from the same perspective,

wherein the camera configuration has a plurality of individual cameras which are used to navigate the aircraft and for said recording of the sequence of images of the surface, and

wherein the camera configuration is adjustable electrically.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the surface to be inspected is the surface of a rotor blade of a wind turbine.