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Project started

The first meeting of the project took place on May 2nd 2020. The meeting was held via video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Technical and administration issues of the project were discussed during the meeting.

The second meeting of the project took place via video conference on May 29 2020. Technical and administration issues of the project were discussed.

Deliverable D1.1 (project requirements and technical specifications) was delivered on M4 (Sep 2020).

The first version of HYPERION's mobile interface is ready and has been distributed to partners for experimentation. For now, the mobile interface communicates with the drone via a simple UDP-based protocol.

To test communications between the mobile interface and the drone, a dummy server has also been created which implements the communications protocol and gives dummy responces to interface commands.

(a) (b) (c)
(d) (e) (f)
(g) (h)
(a-g) Screenshots of HYPERION's mobile interface, (h) Dummy server used to test communications between the interface and the drone.

Deliverable D4.1 (usage scenarios and validation guide) was delivered on M6 (Nov 2020).

The first 6-monthly project report was delivered on M6 (Nov 2020).

All photovoltaic plants where examined with the use of a thermal camera in order to manually identify panels with hotsports and other problems.

Indicative color-coded thermal images of photovoltaic panels with hotspots are shown in the following photos. Yellow colored areas are areas with higher temperatures.

(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(a-d) Color coded thermal images of photovoltaic panels. Yellow colored areas are areas with higher temperatures.

15 December 2020. First flight tests with off-the-shelf platform Matrice 600 pro.

The fourth meeting of the project took place via video conference on January 28th, 2021.

February 2021. A variety of camera and sensor setups and custom mounting options were tested.

Custom mounting options for one or more cameras:

The fifth meeting of the project took place via video conference on April 2nd, 2021.

Extensive tests of vision based SLAM were conducted at the premises of FORTH. Different algorithm versions and sensor setups were tried.

The first version of HYPERION's desktop interface has been delivered by Pygolampis and distributed to the other partners for experimentation. The current version allows entry of the photovoltaic plant's electrical circuity (e.g. which panel belongs to which inverter and which string). Ir also allows the definition of "obstacles" (dangerous areas for the robot to avoid) and the definition of preset drone poses.

The images bellow showcase some of the functionality of the current version of the desktop interface.

(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)
Screenshots from HYPERION's desktop interface. (a,b) The photovoltaic plant can be observed from different preset camera locations, (c) general electrical charakteristics of the plant, (d) preset drone poses, (e) selecting panels belonging to the same inverter but different strings, (f) obstacle locations snd properties.

During the first days of May 2021, extensive flight tests were conducted in order to test the control modules of the aerial vehicle. An off-the-shelf platform was used for the iitial tests. Platform used for initial tests of HYPERION's control modules:

Initial tests of the localization and mapping algorithms were curried out in two photovoltaic plants. Data were gathered using an off-the-shelf drone equipped with two embedded PCs for online computation and a variety of sterescopic camera setups.

Indicative results are shown in the pictures bellow. More information will be provided in deliverable D3.1 (Mapping and localization)

Drone used for the experiments Hardware setup
Sample map Sample map

D3.1 (Mapping and localization) was delivered on M12 (May 2021)

D2.1 (Flying robotic platform according to the specificatios) was delivered by Aether Aeronautics on M12 (May 2021)

D4.2 (Integration plan) was delivered on M12 (May 2021)

The second 6-monthly project report was delivered on M12 (May 2021)

On June 9th and 10th, ,extensive flight tests of the actual HYPERION platform were conducted.

Faulty panels with representative faults have been identified and collected for further testing and experimentation.

(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)
(g) (h)
(a) Faulty panels have been isolated and gathered for further tesing and experiments, (b) cracks on the protective glass coating, (c) delamination (d) yellowing of tha back sheet, (e,f) damaged panels due to hotspots, (g,h)damaged panels due to hotsports (back side).

Mission planner tests with a variety of scenarios took place during the first weeks of July.

A video conference took place on Sep 8, 2021. During the video conference, issues related to project integration were discussed.

Visit to Achelonaris photovoltaic plant for data gathering. A large dataset consisting of both RGB and thermal images has been collected to be used for offline testing and experimentation.

The first completely autonomous flight tests took place on Novenber 7, 2021. Various algorithms and scenarios were tested.

The spraying system and its mounting on the aerial vehicle is ready.

The third 6-monthly project report was delivered on M18 (Nov 2021)

A video conference took place on Dec 7, 2021. During the video conference, issues related to project integration were discussed.

Field trials and data gathering at the photovoltaic plants "Achelonaris notio" and "Achelonaris voreio".

Remote operation tests at the photovoltaic plants "Achelonaros boreio" and "Pezoules pano", both located near the village Mirtia nnd both connected to the internet via 3G/4G.

Remote operation tests at the photovoltaic plant "Vitsilokomo, located near the village Klima and connected to the internet via a wifi and VDSL.

Testing and fine-tuning of the splaying system

On Fenrruary 14-15, the fitst attempts to connect the HYPERION system with the "Achelonaris voreio" photovoltaic plant took place, according to the requiremnts of scenario 4.

Field trials for validation scenario 4 took place on Febrary 21.

A large dataset of rgb and thermal images was gathered at the "Achelonaris voreio" plant. That dataset will be used to fine-tune and test the algorithms of Workpackage 3.4.

A video conference took place on Mar 16, 2021. During the video conference, issues related to project integration were discussed.

10 April 2022. Flight tests with load.

The project duration has been extended by four months. The new project end date is now Sep 30 2022.

The following deliverables, due on month 24 (May 2022) are ready:
  • D3.2 - Application for thermal analysis, defect recognition and splaying of chosen spots
  • D3.3 - Application for problem analysis and optimization
  • D4.3 - System intergation

The due date of for the following deliverables has been transfered to month 28

  • D1.3 - Contact with interested orginations and companies
  • D1.4 - Dissemination of project results to the scientific community
  • D4.4 - field trials and system demonstration
  • D4.4 - Assesment
  • D1.2 - Final project report

15 June 2022. Flight tests for fine tuning of the platform and the control software.

On August 20th, field triaks under strong wind were conducted. The platform maintained its stability under all circumstances.

A video conference took place on June 22, 2022. Plans for the remaining months of the project were discussed.

On July 20th, flight tests with load extending 10 meters bellow the aerial vehicle were conducted to ensure the stability of the ronotic platform and the control software under difficult situations.


A video conference took place on September 22, 2022. Plans for the final project tests and demonstrations were discussed. The final project deliverables due on Sep 30, were also discussed.

The final field trials and the demonstration of the project results took place during month 28 (Sep 2022). The results are summarized in Deliverable D4.4 (Field trials and demonstration).


Drones used for the final file trils:



"Achelonaris" plant, used for the final field trials:


Mapping results and manifold of robot poses:



Drone performing inspection routine above "Achelonaris" plant (photo and interface capture):



RGB and thermal images of panel with hotspot, before and after cleaning:



Diagnosis and optimization results:




The following deliverables and the final project report that had been trasfered to month 28 (Sep 2022) are now ready:
  • D1.3 - Contact with interested orginations and companies
  • D1.4 - Dissemination of project results to the scientific community
  • D4.4 - field trials and system demonstration
  • D4.4 - Assesment
  • D1.2 - Final project report