SABCA and DEME performing offshore drone flight tests

SABCA and DEME Offshore performed a series of tests at the Rentel offshore wind farm in the North Sea, preparing for autonomous surveillance, rescue and detection missions in the near future. The goal is to replace critical and ad hoc operations with autonomous aerial vehicles.
The partners performed a diverse range of tests on various use cases including Search & Rescue operations, environmental surveys, turbine and substation inspections, as well as parcel deliveries. Uniquely, both a ‘traditional’ multicopter drone and a fixed-wing surveillance drone, which has a wing span of more than 3 m, were deployed in parallel. The long endurance surveillance drone took off from the Belgian coast and flew all the way to the Rentel wind farm, which is more than 35 km off the coast. Meanwhile, an automated resident drone performed inspections and cargo flights from the substation and vessels. This drone also conducted a full Search & Rescue demonstration using infrared detection and life buoy dropping.

Press:
Kanaal Z, De Tijd, L’Echo, De Morgen, Offshore wind biz, 4C Offshore