Inspection of Photovoltaic Installations by Thermo-visual UAV Imagery Application Case: Morocco

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are increasingly used in various inspection fields. In this context, the present work focuses on the use of thermal infrared and visual imagery acquired by UAV in the inspection of photovoltaic installations. In the experiment presented within this work, visual and thermal images of photovoltaic modules, obtained by UAV were exploited to generate orthomosaics in the aim of inspecting targeted installations. The methodology was tested on a dataset we have acquired from a mission on Rabat (Morocco). As results, several visual defects were found in visual RGB orthophotos such as cracks and soiling, whereas thermal ones didn't reveal any abnormal profile temperatures. A methodology of hotspots' automatic extraction is also presented and tested on a dataset acquired on Switzerland. In the end, the potential of UAV thermal and visual imagery in the inspection of photovoitaic installations is discussed in different contexts. On the basis of the discussion feedback, UAV were concluded as advantageous tools within the thematic of this project, which proves the necessity of their implementation in the Moroccan context.