CORDIScovery – unearthing the hottest topics in EU science, research and innovation - Drones in industry: technical challenges, practical benefits

Drones in industry: technical challenges, practical benefits

04/25/22 • 36 min

CORDIScovery – unearthing the hottest topics in EU science, research and innovation

What do turbine blades high above the ocean and the bowels of a cargo ship have in common? The inspection vital to keeping both safe and functioning can often be hazardous, the sites frequently inaccessible, and the operation always complex. So how can drones help?

Technicians rappelling down vast blades on the open seas, checking the parts bit by bit; engineers crawling through cramped spaces where air is poor; ships losing time in dock while cranes are used to get engineers to the top of masts: these have been the traditional ways of checking for wear and tear on wind turbines and in ships. But robots provide a new way of approaching the problem.

Here to chat about the industrial use of drones and robots are:

The CEO of BladeInsight, the company behind the Windrone Zenith project, André Croft de Moura. André is interested in robotics and data solutions applied to renewable energy generation. He is joined by Alessandro Maccari, whose background is in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Alessandro is Research and Development director at RINA Services in Italy. He coordinated the ROBINS project and has been applying his expertise to the challenges posed by the use of autonomous vehicles in ship inspections.

For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!Vr8qxg

Here to chat about the industrial use of drones and robots are:

For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!Vr8qxg

Previous Episode

Violence – triggers and perspectives

From the domestic to the international, how can we anticipate, mitigate, and come to terms with violence? This episode of CORDIScovery looks at how victims of domestic violence can be better served. We ask what role violence plays in distracting communities from preparing for climate change. And we explore how the perception of historic violence plays into a culture’s notion of ‘self’.

Catharina Vogt’s project IMPRODOVA, set out to train responders to help the victims of domestic violence more effectively. The team developed tools that are now being used across the board by the police in France, resulting in more charges being pressed than before.

Halvard Buhaug , lead writer on a chapter of the IPPC's latest climate change report, ran the CLIMSEC project. He tells us that the relationship between climate change and violence might not be what we imagine.

Senior lecturer in political theory at the University of Edinburgh, and the co-director of the Centre for Ethics and Critical Thought, Mihaela Mihai’s research focuses on political memory, art and politics, theories of oppression and political emotions. Her GREYZONE project considered how the perception of historic violence plays into cultural identity.

For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!rnKqRQ

Next Episode

Bees – from evolution to artificial intelligence

Does a bee’s gut influence its sociability? Can a plant deter pests and attract pollinators at the same time? And with bee populations under threat, can artificial intelligence keep colonies safe? The EU estimates pollinators such as honeybees contribute at least EUR 22 billion each year to the European agricultural industry. They are so important that the United Nations has designated the 20th of May as World Bee Day, so this episode of CORDIScovery looks at bees!

Hallel Schreier focuses on the intersection between software, artificial intelligence, hardware and biology. His company BeeWise has created the world’s first robotic beehive!

He is joined by Stuart Campbell, who is based at the University of Sheffield where he leads a research laboratory in the area of chemical ecology and evolution of insect-plant interactions.

And:

Joanito Liberti who is an evolutionary molecular ecologist based at the University of Lausanne. Joanito is currently studying how the gut/brain axis manifests itself through the social behaviour of honeybees.

For info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!v3hmHq