• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.619-627
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• 2016

Cells of a PV (photovoltaic) module can suffer defects due to various causes resulting in a loss of power output. As a malfunctioning cell has a higher temperature than adjacent normal cells, it can be easily detected with a thermal infrared sensor. A conventional method of PV cell inspection is to use a hand-held infrared sensor for visual inspection. The main disadvantages of this method, when applied to a large-scale PV power plant, are that it is time-consuming and costly. This paper presents an algorithm for automatically detecting defective PV panels using images captured with a thermal imaging camera from an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). The proposed algorithm uses statistical analysis of thermal intensity (surface temperature) characteristics of each PV module to verify the mean intensity and standard deviation of each panel as parameters for fault diagnosis. One of the characteristics of thermal infrared imaging is that the larger the distance between sensor and target, the lower the measured temperature of the object. Consequently, a global detection rule using the mean intensity of all panels in the fault detection algorithm is not applicable. Therefore, a local detection rule was applied to automatically detect defective panels using the mean intensity and standard deviation range of each panel by array. The performance of the proposed algorithm was tested on three sample images; this verified a detection accuracy of defective panels of 97% or higher. In addition, as the proposed algorithm can adjust the range of threshold values for judging malfunction at the array level, the local detection rule is considered better suited for highly sensitive fault detection compared to a global detection rule. In this study, we used a panel area extraction method that we previously developed; fault detection accuracy would be improved if panel area extraction from images was more precise. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm contributes to the development of a maintenance and repair system for large-scale PV power plants, in combination with a geo-referencing algorithm for accurate determination of panel locations using sensor-based orientation parameters and photogrammetry from ground control points.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_1
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• pp.1479-1488
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• 2022

Accidents in which oil spills occur intermittently in the ocean due to ship collisions and sinkings. In order to prepare prompt countermeasures when such an accident occurs, it is necessary to accurately identify the current status of spilled oil. To this end, the Coast Guard patrols the target area with a fixed-wing airplane or helicopter and checks it with the naked eye or video, but it was difficult to determine the area contaminated by the spilled oil and its exact location on the map. Accordingly, this study develops a technology for direct ortho-rectification by automatically geo-referencing aerial images collected by the Coast Guard without individual ground reference points to identify the current status of spilled oil. First, meta information required for georeferencing is extracted from a visualized screen of sensor information such as video by optical character recognition (OCR). Based on the extracted information, the external orientation parameters of the image are determined. Images are individually orthorectified using the determined the external orientation parameters. The accuracy of individual orthoimages generated through this method was evaluated to be about tens of meters up to 100 m. The accuracy level was reasonably acceptable considering the inherent errors of the position and attitude sensors, the inaccuracies in the internal orientation parameters such as camera focal length, without using no ground control points. It is judged to be an appropriate level for identifying the current status of spilled oil contaminated areas in the sea. In the future, if real-time transmission of images captured during flight becomes possible, individual orthoimages can be generated in real time through the proposed individual orthorectification technology. Based on this, it can be effectively used to quickly identify the current status of spilled oil contamination and establish countermeasures.