In modern urban infrastructure, underground steam pipes play a critical role in providing centralized heating and hot water to residents, hospitals, and industrial facilities. Therefore, maintaining underground steam pipes is crucial, and thermal imaging drones provide an efficient and accurate solution for thermal inspection of these pipes.
Thermal imaging drones represent a new technological advancement in underground steam pipe inspection, effectively addressing challenging locations such as aging urban pipe networks, complex terrain, and dense traffic, enabling thermal inspections for leaks or energy issues.
Why Choose Thermal Imaging Drones for Steam Pipe Inspection?
Urban steam pipes are typically laid underground and widely used in urban heating systems. When a pipe ruptures or insulation fails, steam heats up the surrounding soil, surface, or roadway, creating abnormal hot spots. Rapidly detecting steam leaks is crucial in high-density, fast-paced cities.
Traditional inspections require manual inspections by ground personnel using infrared thermal imaging cameras, which is not only inefficient but also poses safety risks such as high-temperature spraying, landslides, and traffic control.
Drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras can quickly scan large areas of ground temperature anomalies from the air, without disrupting urban traffic operations and maintenance. This allows for:
- Non-contact, long-distance, and high-altitude precise detection of leaks
- Focus on repetitive inspections to identify pipeline leaks, insulation failures, or blockages
- Does not disrupt traffic or ground operations, ensuring high safety
- Reduces labor costs and inspection time, increasing efficiency severalfold
- Quickly obtains coordinates for emergency response and repair planning
Autel EVO II 640T V3: A Professional Tool for Underground Heat Leak Detection
The Autel EVO II 640T V3 is a high-performance drone designed for industrial applications. Equipped with a 640x512 resolution FLIR thermal imaging camera and a 50MP 8K visible light camera, it supports 16x digital zoom and a flight time of up to 38-40 minutes.
Its thermal imaging capability is particularly suitable for detecting heat leaks in underground steam pipes, as these often emit abnormal amounts of heat due to aging, corrosion, or installation issues. These anomalies can be accurately captured using thermal imaging technology, generating detailed temperature distribution data.
Autel Robotics EVO II Dual 640T V3 Thermal Drone Rugged Bundle
$4799.00 USD
In addition, the drone is equipped with Autel SkyLink 2.0 image transmission technology, supporting AI target recognition, precise GPS positioning, and mission planning. It boasts a control range of up to 15 kilometers and is capable of omnidirectional obstacle avoidance in complex environments.
The accompanying IR PC TOOL software also allows for rapid import of thermal imaging data, temperature analysis, and report generation, providing decision support for maintenance teams. These features give the Autel EVO II 640T V3 a significant advantage in urban infrastructure inspections.
Core Advantages:
- Highly sensitive thermal imaging (NETD < 50mk)
- Captures extremely subtle temperature fluctuations, enabling clear identification of leaks even within a few meters.
- AI Hotspot Tracking and Picture-in-Picture Mode
- Real-time hotspot locations are displayed overlaid on the visible light image, enabling faster identification of ground anomalies.
- 40-minute flight time + automatic flight routes
- Routes can be set to cover multiple city blocks, ensuring uninterrupted operation.
- GPS Positioning + Geo-Tagged Photos
- Automatically records images and coordinates after capturing an anomaly, enabling maintenance personnel to precisely locate excavation.
- Data Export and Report Generation
- Supports thermal map data output and post-analysis, suitable for project archiving and decision support.
Application Scenarios of the Autel EVO II 640T V3 Thermal Imaging Drone for Underground Heat Detection
Leveraging the Autel 640T V3's powerful thermal imaging capabilities, drones are widely used in underground heat detection, including inspections of older urban heating pipe networks, acceptance inspections after new or renovated pipelines, emergency response in key areas, and nighttime inspections.
Before winter heating season, the drone can autonomously fly along a pre-set route, covering several kilometers of pipelines and transmitting thermal imaging data in real time. Engineers then use the IR PC TOOL to analyze anomalies and develop maintenance plans.
Thermal imaging data changes more significantly during nighttime flight, facilitating accurate positioning and rapid drone deployment, shortening inspection time and eliminating the need for road closures or manual inspections.
Summary
With the increasing complexity of urban heating pipeline networks and the aging of infrastructure, traditional detection methods are no longer able to meet the needs of efficient, secure, and data-driven management. Autel EVO II Dual 640T V3's underground heat detection solutions will continue to grow, contributing to the digitalization of urban operations and maintenance.
