Automated imaging of photovoltaic devices using an aerial vehicle and automated flight of the aerial vehicle for performing the same

A method for automated flight of an aerial vehicle to perform imaging of a set of photovoltaic (PV) arrays, the method comprising:

• determining flight paths between target points for capturing visual datasets of the PV arrays, each PV array corresponding to a respective plurality of the target points;
• controlling the aerial vehicle for automated flight along the flight paths to a respective first target point of the respective plurality of target points corresponding to each PV array;
• and
• controlling the aerial vehicle for an automated manoeuvre to capture the visual datasets of each PV array using a camera of the aerial vehicle,
• wherein the automated manoeuvre comprises moving the aerial vehicle along a scanning direction from the respective first target point to a respective second target points of the respective plurality of target points, the scanning direction determined with respect to a first target view of the PV array and based on an arrangement of the aerial vehicle relative to the PV array and in response to locating the first target view of the PV array in a field-of-view (FOV) of the camera that is aligned to the PV array.

A method for automated flight of an aerial vehicle and automated imaging of a set of photovoltaic (PV) arrays using the aerial vehicle, the method comprising:

• determining flight paths between target points for capturing visual datasets of the PV arrays, each PV array corresponding to a respective plurality of the target points;
• controlling the aerial vehicle for automated flight along the flight paths to a respective first target point of the respective plurality of target points corresponding to each PV array;
• and
• controlling the aerial vehicle for automated to capture the visual dataset of the PV array using a camera of the aerial vehicle, the automated manoeuvre performed by the aerial vehicle comprising:
• aligning a field-of-view (FOV) of the camera to a PV array subsection of the PV array;
• locating, in the aligned FOV, a respective first target view of the PV array and corresponding to the respective first target point corresponding to the PV array;
• determining, based on an arrangement of the aerial vehicle relative to the PV array and in response to said locating of the respective first target view, a scanning direction with respect to the respective first target view for moving the aerial vehicle from the respective first target points;
• moving the aerial vehicle along the scanning direction from the respective first target point towards a respective second target point of the respective plurality of target points, the respective second target point corresponding to a respective second target view of the PV array;
• and
• capturing, using the camera, the visual dataset of the PV array between the respective first and second target views of the PV array subsection as the aerial vehicle moves along the scanning direction between the respective first and second target points.