ISS-200
In-Service Inspection System
Robotic NDT for field wind turbine blades
A field-deployable crawler built for in-service blades. The ISS-200 climbs under rope or platform support and returns laboratory-grade UT data at height, onshore or offshore. IP67 / NEMA 4X sealing holds through salt fog and -20 °C, so an offshore campaign is not stopped by weather that grounds a rope crew. At 300 mm/s on curved surfaces a 60 m blade is scanned in under 2 hours, so one technician can clear three blades in a single shift.
Specifications
- Scan speed
- 300 mm/s on curved surface
- Ingress rating
- IP67 / NEMA 4X
- Operating range
- 100 m remote
- Payload
- PAUT, ET, thermography
- Runtime
- 6 h hot-swappable battery
- Compliance
- DNV-ST-0126
Key capabilities
Weather sealed
IP67 and NEMA 4X sealing keeps the crawler working through salt fog, rain and -20 °C on an offshore deck, where a rope crew stands down and the campaign loses the day.
Curved-surface tracking
A compliant suspension keeps the probe coupled at 300 mm/s over leading-edge curvature, so coupling loss does not stall the scan when the surface turns.
Remote operation
One technician drives the scan from the nacelle or the deck over a 100 m fiber-optic tether or a 4G/5G link, so no rope access certification is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of defects can the wind turbine blade inspection robot detect?
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Leading edge erosion, lightning strike damage, adhesive joint failure, crack propagation, delamination and disbonds all sit inside the payload set, and PAUT, eddy current and thermography each cover part of that list.
Can the inspection robot operate on offshore wind turbines?
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IP67 and NEMA 4X sealing is rated for continuous salt-fog exposure at -20 °C, and the 6-hour hot-swappable battery covers a full shift per DNV-ST-0126.
How does automated robotic inspection compare to drone inspection?
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A drone reads the surface only. The ISS-200 resolves subsurface delamination, bond-line voids and spar cap defects a camera cannot see, which is the difference between a photograph and a structural call.
How long does it take to scan one blade?
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At 300 mm/s, a 60 m blade is done in under 2 hours including setup, so one technician clears a three-blade turbine in a single shift.
Is special training required to operate the crawler?
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Yes, but it is short. ISO 9712 Level 2 UT certification plus a 3-day RAS system course covers the single-technician remote workflow, and no rope access ticket is required.