In this case study, we explore the world of PV (photovoltaic) inspections. The advantage of inspecting solar parks in this manner over a regular inspection is that the collected data allows you to identify various defects more quickly and efficiently. This inspection method is especially suitable for delivering a solar park, just before the expiration of a warranty period, or for annual regular inspections. 

The solar park inspected in this case consisted of 10,000 solar panels. The flight time for inspecting a solar park of this size is between 25-30 minutes. With this inspection, we can show which solar panels are not performing optimally.  After cleaning/repair, the solar panels can, in many cases, yield several thousand euros more, depending on the size of the park.

The test aimed to work with the North Holland-North Safety Region and the Police to test how effective the deployment of a speaker drone is in warning people about situations that require attention. For example, to alert people to maintain a 1.5-meter distance from others not in the same household, as was the case in our scenario. This item was broadcast on the NOS news last year, and a summary can be found below this article.

This technique and solution are now more commonly used to warn/inform large groups of people simultaneously about a particular situation.

Today, the acceptance of a speaker drone is reasonably high compared to a year ago. This shows that we should give new technology, in this case, drones and their applications, a chance to test its use. To experience its ultimate benefits, and deploy it responsibly.

In March 2020, UEFA asked the Johan Cruyff Arena what measures they had taken against drones during the European Football Championship? The championship was originally scheduled for June 2020 but was postponed to June 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis. Willem Hegen, Manager of Crowd Services at the Johan Cruyff Arena, then contacted his partners in the technology and data field lab, namely the Municipality of Amsterdam and the National Police, to see how they could adequately respond to this question.

The field lab contacted DroneStars because they had already gained practical experience with DJI’s counter-drone system as the first Dutch dealer, allowing the field lab to be well-advised on how to best meet UEFA’s requirements.

A counter-drone system was chosen that can detect drones in the airspace using RF frequency. The system receives the pilot’s GPS location and real-time GPS location of the drone, flight altitude, speed, and flight path!

This provides the field lab with insight into the number of flights taking place at a specific time, for example, during an Ajax or Dutch national team match, and allows the airspace around the Johan Cruyff Arena to be monitored as optimally as possible, with the Police potentially able to enforce.

The field lab, in collaboration with DroneStars, is continuously looking for new innovations to expand the system to monitor the airspace around the JC Arena as optimally as possible during the European Football Championship in June 2021.