The embodied Artificial Intelligence is a relevant characteristic of aerial robots for inspection and maintenance that should be decided taking into account aspects such as the reliability of the implementation, the availability of expert pilots/operators, communication, the regulation and the cost. In some applications the end-users prefer fully autonomous solutions due to cost and difficulties for teleoperation, while in others the intervention of human pilots and other operators is preferred due to the lack of reliability of existing autonomous systems, difficulties to meet regulations and availability of pilots and communication.
On the other hand, energy autonomy referring to the time of flight and range, is a critical characteristic involved in the inspection of large infrastructures and plants. This is usually related to the size of the unmanned aerial vehicles and safety constraints, as well as the possibility to recharge or substitute batteries, the ability to pilot the aerial vehicle Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and the regulations. In the Workshop the existing technologies will be analysed together with the end-users preferences in order to generate recommendations for multiple applications in industrial plants and infrastructures
The Workshop will present recent results and demonstrations of relevant projects, including the following H2020 projects: AERIAL-CORE, HYFLIERS and PILOTING.
The organizers and speakers are top level members of research institutions and relevant companies including end-users (ENDESA-ENEL, CHEVRON, TOTAL) and technology manufacturers (THALES GROUP, Terabee), together with young representatives of start-up companies (VES, NEOBOTICS)
This Workshop will continue a very successful line in previous ERF that have generated recommendations, products and proposals of new projects