Categories
Applied Innovation

Autonomous Systems Replacing Human Beings from Dirty- Dangerous and Dull Workplaces

Categories
Applied Innovation

Autonomous Systems Replacing Human Beings from Dirty- Dangerous and Dull Workplaces

Autonomous systems have revolutionized a number of sectors in recent years by taking over tedious and hazardous tasks. These technological developments have improved worker safety in addition to increasing production and efficiency.

Industrial Robots

At the forefront of automation in production facilities are industrial robots. These robots are made to do jobs including material handling, welding, painting, and assembling. Industrial robots can operate continually without becoming tired, guaranteeing constant quality and productivity even in potentially harmful situations.

The usage of robotic arms in the production of automobiles is one such example. By completing jobs quickly and precisely, these robots lower the possibility of mistakes and boost output. They also reduce the amount of dangerous situations that human workers are exposed to by operating in areas with high temperatures, poisonous gasses, and heavy machinery.

Drones

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sometimes referred to as drones, have found use in a variety of sectors because of their capacity to reach hazardous or difficult-to-reach locations. They are used for delivery of commodities, field monitoring, and infrastructure inspection. Drones improve productivity and safety by carrying out operations that might otherwise endanger human workers.

Drones with cameras and sensors can be used in agriculture to gather important information on crop health, soil conditions, and irrigation requirements. Farmers may increase crop yields, optimize resource use, and make well-informed decisions with the help of this information. Drones are being tested in the logistics industry for last-mile delivery, which would cut down on delivery expenses and timeframes.

Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles, such as delivery robots and self-driving trucks, are revolutionizing the logistics and transportation sectors. Because these cars are made to run autonomously, fewer human drivers are required, which increases operational effectiveness.

In order to deliver products over long distances without the need for breaks, self-driving trucks are being developed. This lowers the possibility of accidents brought on by tired drivers in addition to lowering transportation expenses. Contrarily, delivery robots are employed for short-distance deliveries, traveling through cities to deliver items to clients’ doorsteps.

Automated Mining Equipment

Automation has been adopted by the mining sector to increase production and safety. In order to harvest minerals from the soil, autonomous trucks and drills must operate in hazardous and hostile environments that would be harmful for human workers.

For instance, to navigate mining sites and move commodities, autonomous haul trucks are outfitted with cutting-edge sensors and GPS technology. Because these vehicles can run around the clock, fewer people are needed to operate them, which lowers the possibility of accidents. In the same way, automated drilling equipment improves mineral extraction accuracy and productivity.

Cleaning Robots

In both household and business settings, cleaning robots are becoming more and more common. In order to free up human labor for more sophisticated tasks, these robots are made to do routine and repetitive cleaning duties.

For example, robotic vacuum cleaners travel and clean floors on their own using sensors and algorithms. Robots that scrub floors in commercial settings keep big establishments like malls, hospitals, and airports clean. Cleaning robots increase productivity by doing these tiresome jobs, freeing up human workers to concentrate on more important duties.

Underwater Robots

Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), another name for underwater robots, are employed for maintenance and exploratory operations. These robots can function in hazardous and deep underwater conditions that are inaccessible to human divers.

To carry out operations like underwater pipeline inspection, offshore platform maintenance, and marine research, ROVs are outfitted with cameras, sensors, and manipulator arms. Underwater robots improve safety and efficiency in underwater operations by removing the need for human divers to work in dangerous environments.

The Autonomous Workplace: Impact on Employment

The workplace has seen significant changes as a result of the integration of autonomous systems throughout sectors, which have both created and replaced employment while also changing current ones. Humans are freed up to manage and debug these systems as AI and automation replace monotonous duties, which calls for adaptability and new abilities. For example, workers in logistics may go from manual sorting and packaging to managing autonomous delivery systems, while workers in manufacturing may switch from manual jobs to programming and maintaining robots.

The workforce is changing as a result of increased automation, with robots performing jobs that call for accuracy and stamina, freeing up people to concentrate on jobs requiring dexterity, flexibility, and cognitive abilities. Robotic-assisted operations increase surgeons’ accuracy in intricate procedures, freeing up healthcare personnel to focus on patient care and decision-making while utilizing autonomous technologies to boost results.

Applications Across Industries

The rollout of self-operating systems has an impact on many fields making things more productive, safer, and effective. Factories now use human-like machines that can work all day and night. These robots boost the quality of jobs and how much they make while teaming up with real people. Mining businesses have started to use trucks that drive themselves to move stuff non-stop. This cuts down on how many human drivers they need and makes accidents less likely to happen.

In the oil and gas industry, self-driving underwater vehicles check offshore platforms and look for debris in tough underwater settings. This helps keep things safe and makes sure the infrastructure stays in good shape. The logistics field gets a boost from automation when it comes to picking, sorting, and delivering products. Companies are working on networks of self-driving trucks and using drones to deliver items that last bit of the way. In farming, systems that work on their own make farms more productive and less harmful to the environment. They do this by keeping an eye on watering and using precise farming methods.

The public sector uses robot porters to collect trash and drones to inspect power lines and respond to disasters. This helps make public services more productive and safer. In healthcare, self-operating systems help with surgeries, keep an eye on patients, and make it easier for people in far-off areas to get medical care. In construction, robots take care of demolition, survey sites, and create maps. Workers wear powered exoskeletons to lift heavy things, which cuts down on the chance of getting hurt and boosts output.

Key Takeaway

Numerous sectors have seen substantial changes as a result of the deployment of autonomous systems, which have improved production, safety, and efficiency. These technologies allow humans to concentrate on more complicated, creative, and strategic jobs by taking over filthy, hazardous, and boring duties. Human-machine cooperation will spur innovation and revolutionize the nature of work in the future as we continue to embrace automation.

Reach out to us at open-innovator@quotients.com or drop us a line to delve into the transformative potential of groundbreaking technologies. We’d love to explore the possibilities with you.

Categories
Applied Innovation Industry 4.0

Drones for inspection of challenging internal environments

Categories
Applied Innovation Industry 4.0

Drones for inspection of challenging internal environments

Visual inspections are required as part of most industries’ maintenance procedures. Using a drone to capture visual data on the state of an asset can assist inspectors in avoiding unsafe circumstances, lowering risk, and drastically lowering cost.

High-resolution Video Checks

Drones have several other advantages such as high-resolution video checks. This allows for more efficient and cost-effective examination of difficult-to-reach places such as pipelines and structures, eliminating the need for costly approaches such as rope access and scaffolding. Captured high-quality images may be used to conduct extensive condition evaluations.

Thermal Imaging

Thermal imaging may also be performed by drones. Inspections may be done in a highly effective and timely manner using aircraft-mounted thermographic imaging technology. Potentially dangerous hot spots that might lead to unanticipated downtime and maintenance can be identified promptly.

Photogrammetry

Another approach utilized by drones for inspection is photogrammetry, which produces the most precise data for 3D modeling and dimensional mapping for volumetric calculations. This significantly improves comprehension of an asset’s status to aid decision-making.

Fields of Application

Offshore projects are generally viewed as severe and demanding, and it is critical to limit errors and loss of production at both the installation and the inspection equipment to a minimum. For instance, a flare inspection on an oil-and-gas platform where the flare is still operational. The drones can here capture image- or thermographic data about the flare’s status while production continues unimpeded.

Drone inspection may also be used for onshore structures such as bridges on land, linking islands, or crossing divides in a landscape. Also for inspection of towering buildings such as wind turbines, where the drone obtains high-resolution photographs of potential flaws, allowing for detailed planning of repair work as the data obtained will assist avoid unpleasant surprises during the maintenance period.

Drone inspection is also useful in confined locations such as power plant boilers, fuel storage tanks, and so on. Visual inspections are desirable, but there are significant problems when deploying drones in limited locations. Drones, on the other hand, can provide good picture quality with real, natural colors by employing strong LED lighting.

Every day, workers all across the world evaluate dangerous interior places. Drones can thus undertake surveys of difficult inside settings more securely, economically, and effectively than human inspectors; thus, the time has come to transition to drones for internal inspection.

We have solutions for drone inspection that can be used in sectors like Renewable energy, the Oil and Gas Industry, Cement Industry, Mining Industry, and other traditional manufacturing industries.

For additional information on such solutions and emerging use cases in other areas, as well as cooperation and partnership opportunities, please contact us at open-innovator@quotients.com

Categories
Innovator's Vista

Drones for Last Mile Delivery

Categories
Innovator's Vista

Drones for Last Mile Delivery

Last mile delivery refers to the last step of the delivery process when a parcel starting from the shelf of a warehouse reaches its final destination through a transportation hub. It is a crucial step that determines the holistic perception of brands by the consumers. It is also the most expensive step as it costs 53% of the overall delivery.

These reasons have led the companies to invest significantly on improving the customer experience and work on last mile delivery strategies. A range of technologies like telematics, hybrid fleet systems, delivery robots etc. are being used for the purpose. Drones are also being considered as an important part of modern logistics operations.

Drones or Unmanned Arial Vehicles are increasingly being used to transport medicines, parcels, groceries, food, and other products. They are accurate, environment-friendly, have shorter delivery time, and operate on lower costs than traditional delivery channels. The GPS technology based advanced navigation systems, and ability to operate autonomously make them better suited for delivery in rural and remote areas.

Drones rely on Motors, Propellers, GPS and other onboard sensors like Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Barometer, Distance Sensor etc for functioning. A Drone can be fixed wing type that has one rigid wing and works like an airplane. These drones cannot stay in one place and glide on a path set. Another type is VTOL i.e. vertical take-off and landing, these drones, as the name suggests, can take off, hover, and land vertically. Drones are also categorised on basis of rotors used as multi-rotor and fixed-rotor drones.

A Gurugram-based startup, TechEagle, started in 2015 at IIT Kanpur, has developed e-VTOL, an electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOL) drone. The drone has a range of 100 km, a payload capacity of 3 kgs and can achieve maximum speed of 120 km/hr. Named Vertiplane X3, the company claims it to be the fastest Made-In-India hybrid drone.

Anshu Abhishek, Cofounder, Tech Eagle at Open Innovator Meet

TechEagle was one of the participants at OPEN INNOVATOR MEET where COO & Co-founder, Anshu Abhishek, informed about the accomplishments and plans of his company. The Startup has conducted trials with food delivery companies like Zomato and Swiggy. It has also worked with State Governments of Telangana, Meghalaya and Himachal on delivering medicines and vaccines. The company, recently, has also carried out parcel delivery with India Post in Kutch.

The company also plans creating a network of on-demand drone delivery for healthcare. Drones are being used in various applications like video/photography, inspection, monitoring, and surveying, but in healthcare drones can play very significant role by rapid and targeted delivery of vaccines, medications and supplies. Drones by delivering medical supplies right at the home of the patient can reduce footfall at the hospitals and clinics and hence improve the productivity of medical professionals and emergency responders.

India is witnessing a significant rise in the number of drone start-ups. According to IBEF, since August 2021 drone start-ups in the country has surged by 34.4% to around 350 startups.


Categories
Innovator's Vista

Drones for sectors like Agriculture, Industrial, Environmental, Public and Private agencies

Categories
Innovator's Vista

Drones for sectors like Agriculture, Industrial, Environmental, Public and Private agencies

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is a class of aircrafts that can fly without the onboard presence of pilots. They can be handled remotely with a controller or tablet (Drones) or operate autonomously. They are equipped with different state of the art technology such as infrared cameras, GPS and laser with remote ground control systems (GSC).

Impact of commercial drone — drones made for specific types of jobs both corporate and consumer applications — on country’s GDP is increasing. It is among the fastest-growing market in the world and according to a Business Today Report India’s UAV market will be worth $1.81 billion (or Rs 13,575 crore) by FY26, while the Drone Federation of India estimates the industry to touch Rs 50,000 crore in the next five years. 

Due to limitations on economic front in surveillance, difficulty in operating in narrow and confined spaces, traveling long distances manually. Unmanned aerial vehicles are finding application in various sectors as payload delivery, traffic monitoring, surveillance and in sectors like Agriculture, Industrial, Environmental, Public and Private agencies.

Aerosys Aviation India, a startup is working on developing drones for various applications. The company is using Design Thinking, creativity, Innovation and Analytical Approach to solve complex problems.

Some of the solutions they provide are:

Land surveying: Survey drones generate high-resolution orthomosaic—large, map-quality image with high detail and resolution made by combining many smaller images— and detailed 3D models of areas where low-quality, outdated or even no data, are available.

Surveillance: UAVs equipped with an RGB camera allow them to provide imagery of different Areas. Drones can cover large areas with minimal time or period of non reachable areas with low risk and cost effectiveness. Surveillance is the observation of a person, crowded areas, infrastructure, behaviour, activities, building etc for the protecting and managing purpose.

Agriculture: Detection of issues like disease, water stress, pest infestation, nutrient deficiencies, and more. The specific filters on multispectral cameras highlight changes in chlorophyll content in plants, which is oftentimes an indicator of disease or stress.

Apart from this the company is also working on providing solutions for Border Security, Forest and Wildlife Monitoring, Infrastructure inspection in Railways, Mining, and Oil and Gas Industry.

One of their better known drones is “Vedansh UAV”, a Micro category class Quadcopter Drone, made exclusively for Surveying & Mapping purpose. It uses a dual battery pack technology for greater endurance during the flight. It is built of Carbon composite material keeping its weight factor in consideration. It has integrated in it for Superior mapping accuracy with indigenous dual-frequency RTK/PPK system (a GPS correction technology).

Overall it can be stated that Drones lead to reduction in field crews and decrease risk with highly detailed data. Increased revenue, investment through additional analysis of value-added products, made possible from high-resolution imagery. Key Customers include Governments, Companies working on Agriculture, Construction, Surveillance,Traffic Management etc.