Inspecting Mega Solar Plants through Computer Vision and Drone Technologies

Abstract

This research presents a unique approach for monitoring the large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic modules in solar power plants using state-of-art object detection YOLOv5 algorithm and classical image processing techniques. We have highlighted an integral part of the fully automated system in which a drone takes flight over the solar park and shoot the videos. Videos are preprocessed and used for trained YOLOv5 model to recognize the clean and dirty panels. The process is defined for a selected site and can be implemented using a Raspberry Pi. This system processes the images taken by drones, generates a report, and sends it to the concerned department automatically via email every day so that timely maintenance can be done for the long-life and safe operation of solar arrays. The inspection timeline for the same process was about one hundred and twenty hours, reduced to five minutes. It means that 99.93% of the time is saved through vision and robust automation techniques.