| CPC G06V 20/176 (2022.01) [G06V 20/17 (2022.01); G08G 5/32 (2025.01)] | 12 Claims |
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1. A method for aerial inspection of structures for gas emissions, the method comprising:
storing, in memory, aerial inspection data including:
data of at least one of: locations of a plurality of structures within a plurality of potential gas emission facilities, or a gas emission scanning area associated with the plurality of gas emission facilities, the plurality of potential gas emission facilities including at least one of: one or more well sites, one or more compressor stations, one or more oil refineries, one or more petrochemical plants, one or more petroleum products distributors, one or more petrochemical retail outlets, one or more pipelines, or natural gas distribution facilities;
data of locations of one or more bases, wherein the one or more bases comprise available departure points for the aerial inspection for the gas emissions;
data of a plurality of available flight vehicles and one or more operational capabilities of the plurality of available flight vehicles, the one or more operational capabilities including at least one of: a speed, a fuel consumption rate, a fuel capacity, or a turn rate of the plurality of available flight vehicles; and
data of a plurality of available gas emission detection sensors and one or more operational capabilities of the plurality of available gas emission detection sensors, the operational capabilities of the plurality of available gas emission detection sensors including at least one of: a scan swath, a scan speed, a scan radius, a deployment restriction, or a detection limit of the plurality of available gas emission detection sensors;
determining, by one or more processors, first feasible groups of the plurality of structures iteratively by, for pairs of a flight vehicle, of the plurality of available flight vehicles, and a gas emission detection sensor of the plurality of available gas emission detection sensors:
determining, using the aerial inspection data, a respective group of structures as feasible when a respective gas emission scanning area for the respective group of structures is below a respective gas emission scanning area limit for the respective pair of the flight vehicle and the gas emission detection sensor; and
when the respective gas emission scanning area for the respective group of structures is at or above the respective gas emission scanning area limit for the respective pair of the flight vehicle and the gas emission detection sensor:
determining the respective group of structures as infeasible;
determining one or more subgroups of the respective group of structures; and
determining whether each of the one or more subgroups is a first feasible group by determining, for each of the one or more subgroups, whether a gas emission scanning area for the subgroup is below the respective gas emission scanning area limit for the respective pair of the flight vehicle and the gas emission detection sensor;
determining, by the one or more processors, second feasible groups of the plurality of structures iteratively by, for a plurality of combinations of a base, of the plurality of bases, and a pair of the pairs of flight vehicle and gas emission detection sensor:
determining, using the aerial inspection data, a respective combination of the plurality of combinations as a second feasible group when the respective combination is capable of a trip to aerially inspect a respective first feasible group of the plurality of structures, the trip comprising:
travelling, by the respective flight vehicle from the respective base, to a center of the respective first feasible group of the plurality of structures;
scanning, with the respective gas emission detection sensor, each structure of the respective first feasible group of the plurality of structures; and
returning to the respective base; and
when the respective combination is incapable of the trip to aerially inspect the respective first feasible group of the plurality of structures:
determining one or more subgroups of the first feasible group; and
determining whether each of the one or more subgroups is a second feasible group by determining whether the respective combination is capable of a trip to aerially inspect each respective subgroup;
selecting, by the one or more processors, one of the plurality of combinations;
determining, by the one or more processors, flight path data representing flight path segments that form a trip to inspect, using the selected combination of base, flight vehicle, and gas emission detection sensor, one or more second feasible groups of structures, wherein the flight path data includes a sequence of structures of the one or more second groups of structures to scan, and wherein the flight path data is determined by minimizing flight time costs for the trip; and
executing the trip based on the determined flight path data, wherein executing the trip comprises:
dispatching the flight vehicle of the selected combination, equipped with the gas emission detection sensor of the selected combination, from the base of the selected combination;
aerially inspecting, by the flight vehicle using the gas emission detection sensor, the sequence of structures of the one or more second groups of structures; and
returning the flight vehicle to the base.
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