A Navigational System for Quadcopter Remote Inspection of Offshore Substations

Abstract

Effective and safe maintenance of offshore infrastructure is hampered by its remote location. Robotic inspection can provide a retrofit solution, improving safety for human personnel by removing them from a potentially hazardous environment, and also reduce operational costs. There are three primary challenges for navigation around an offshore substation: low visibility, high electromagnetic fields and the absence of Global Positioning System (GPS). This paper details a navigational system that enables UAVs to operate within a dark and GPS-denied environment.