Innovative Drone Measurement Platform Delivers Industrial Emissions Mapping

Innovative Drone Measurement Platform Delivers Industrial Emissions Mapping

Chris Anderson, while still editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, talked to a small group of us once about his fascination with drones. He got so involved he quit his job to start a company. Of course, in my day (ancient though it was), we called the RC (or radio controlled) model airplanes.

The technology has developed so quickly that I’ve been amazed there have not been more industrial drone applications. Other than spying, which I’m sure goes on but we don’t talk about.

Aeromon, a Finnish cleantech startup that utilizes its innovative analytics platform and mobile sensors to flexibly map emissions in real-time, successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of drone-mounted platforms for measuring industrial emissions.

Drone Pilot Program

A pilot program at the Ämmässuo waste treatment centre (operated by the Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY, Finland) compared historical data captured using hand-held measurement tools with aerial measurements taken by a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) fitted with Aeromon’s sensor package. The composition and concentration of the biowaste stack and treatment facility emissions were also studied.

The resulting readings closely corresponded with HSY reference results, demonstrating the suitability of Aeromon’s aerial measurement platform for detecting fugitive emissions in a wide range of industrial settings, including those in which measurements may have previously been difficult to obtain.

“When aerially-deployed, our sensor package can create a detailed emissions map of an industrial area. This data can be combined with environmental data in our cloud-based analytics platform Aeromon Cloud Service to provide a complete view of the emissions ,” says Jouko Salo, Chairman of Aeromon.

The agile, accessible nature of the Aeromon platform was appreciated by HSY in particular. “The analysers used in Aeromon’s quadcopter were very portable and seemed reliable. The graphs provided in Aeromon’s final report were informative and easy to understand. We found the results obtained by Aeromon’s quadcopter to be close to our own measurements,” said Roni Järvensivu, Site Environmental Engineer as HSY Ämmässuo.

With the HSY pilot case proving the effectiveness of the Aeromon platform in a real-world industrial setting, Aeromon is well positioned to serve a wide range of industries.  “With emissions monitoring legislation tightening across the globe, the need for reliable fugitive emissions detection solutions is increasing,” continues Jouko Salo.

Unlike traditional technologies, the Aeromon platform maps and identifies emissions with cost-effective, lightweight sensors that analyze a wide range of gases, augmented with exact location information and environmental conditions parameters. The ultra-lightweight nature of Aeromon’s analyzer platform means it can be deployed in fixed and hand-held configurations, and can be carried by any drone/RPAS/UAS capable of carrying a professional camera set.

Enabling The Industrial Internet of Things From The Plant Floor

Enabling The Industrial Internet of Things From The Plant Floor

Enabling Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Reliability, Scalability, and pursuing Real ROI encompass the current mantra of Fluke. Maybe you only know that company for its multimeters or infrared cameras. Well, there is much more behind the curtain.

The company has focused product development on mobile solutions, wireless communications, and data. This quarter’s product releases reflect all of that.

Infrared

F-ti450_03a_cThe new Fluke Ti450 Infrared Camera takes focus to a new level of clarity with MultiSharp Focus. An out-of-focus thermal image can give you data that may lead to misdiagnosis — potentially costing you thousands — with no way to correct it once it has been captured, short of taking new images. This new infrared camera solves this problem by delivering images automatically focused throughout the field of view.

“We are excited to announce this new technology, because it makes a real difference in situations where you have objects at multiple distances that you want in focus. Places like substations, motors driving a long production line, or electrical panels with components at varying depths,” notes Chris Rayburn, thermography business director.

MultiSharp Focus is a new technology that rapidly takes multiple images and combines them to produce one in-focus image. The advanced focusing system enables users to capture an automated, focused image of multiple targets at once, delivering the image clarity needed by professional thermographers and maintenance managers to produce top-quality results and avoid costly rework.

Waveforms

F-125b_01a_c Waveform to Industrial Internet of ThingsToday’s industrial machinery is more reliable and efficient, but can also be more difficult to troubleshoot because of the complexities of its advanced systems. The new Fluke ScopeMeter 120B Series Industrial Handheld Oscilloscope features Connect-and-View technology that recognizes signal patterns and automatically sets up the scope’s triggering, amplitude, and time base eliminating the typical trial-and-error setup process. Once the waveform is captured, the new IntellaSet intelligent measurement detection automatically selects key measurements based on the acquired waveform type and displays the most relevant measurement values (for example, Vrms and Hz for a line voltage signal, or Vpeak-peak and Hz for a square wave), helping technicians easily identify and characterize potential signal faults.

The 120B Series also features Event Capture function that captures and identifies elusive intermittent events and lists all those events that exceed a predetermined threshold. This lets technicians identify key events quickly, rather than combing through large data sets, reading by reading.

Fluke Connect

The Industrial Internet of Things is all about connections and data. As part of Fluke Connect— a system of wireless test tools that communicate via the Fluke Connect app, or Fluke Connect Assets software, a cloud-based solution that gathers measurements to provide a comprehensive view of critical equipment status — the 120B Series can automatically record waveform data to the Fluke Connect app on smartphones or tablets ensuring accuracy and eliminating manual recording of data. Those measurements are then wirelessly uploaded to the cloud and can be combined with measurement data from multiple Fluke Connect test tools to create and share reports from the job site via email and collaborate in real time with other colleagues, increasing productivity in the field. Storing then comparing and contrasting waveforms of specific asset test points over time enables maintenance engineers to better identify and troubleshoot conditions that can lead to failures.

Work Orders

6007307a-en-fca-work-order-list to the Industrial Internet of ThingsFluke introduces Work Orders, the latest enhancement to the Fluke Connect Assets, an asset management software solution that works with the Fluke Connect system of wireless test tools. Using this new Fluke Connect Assets feature maintenance managers can:

  • View complete work order history coupled with measurement data related to a specific plant asset
  • Create work orders from anywhere
  • Confidently assign the job to the appropriate technician and balance the task with other work orders in the system.

Technicians are provided with actual measurement data right in the work order allowing them to better understand the problem and work instructions.

The Fluke Connect system allows entire maintenance teams to capture and wirelessly share data via their smartphones.  Using the AutoRecord feature measurements are transferred directly from Fluke Connect wireless test tools – eliminating transcription errors – and can be uploaded to FlukeCloud storage. Measurements can be assigned to a specific asset for sharing and analysis. Technicians can collaborate with their colleagues to discuss problems while sharing data and images in real time with ShareLive video calls, which speeds problem solving, decision-making and approvals.

Clamp Meters

F-125b_10a_cOften the most frustrating task for electricians and maintenance technicians is to troubleshoot intermittent faults because they rarely occur at convenient times. The new Fluke Connect-enabled 370 FC Series Clamp Meters log measurements to pinpoint intermittent faults precisely without the need for the technician to be present. Those measurements are then wirelessly transmitted to the Fluke Connect app on smartphones or tablets and automatically uploaded to the cloud, keeping technicians outside the arc flash zone and away from dangerous moving machinery, improving safety.

The CAT IV 600 V, CAT III 1000 V safety-rated clamp meters offer advanced troubleshooting performance to capture a wide range of measurements with a single tool, including:

  • Proprietary in-rush measurement technology to filter out noise and capture motor starting current exactly as the circuit protection sees it;
  • Integrated variable frequency drive low pass filter (376 FC and 375 FC models only) for accurate motor drive measurements;
  • True-rms voltage and current for accurate measurements on non-linear signals;
  • 500 mV dc measurement range to interface with other accessories (376 FC and 375 FC models only);
  • Expanded measurement range to 2500 A ac with the iFlex flexible current probes, which provide access to large conductors in tight spaces.

As part of Fluke Connect— the industry’s largest system of software and more than 30 wireless test tools — technicians can wirelessly transmit measurement data from the 370 FC Series clamp meters and other test tools to their smartphones for secure storage on the Fluke Cloud and team access from the field. With the Fluke Connect smartphone app, technicians can combine measurement data from multiple Fluke Connect test tools to create and share reports from the job site via email and collaborate in real time with other colleagues with ShareLive video calls, increasing productivity in the field.

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