Unmanned aerial vehicle wind turbine inspection systems and methods

A method implemented by a system of one or more processors, the method comprising

• obtaining first sensor information by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the first sensor information describing physical aspects of a wind turbine, including one or more blades of the wind turbine;
• determining an orientation of the blades of the wind turbine based on the obtained first sensor information;
• determining a flight pattern for the UAV to inspect the blades of the wind turbine, wherein the flight pattern is based on the determined orientation of the blades;
• and
• inspecting by the UAV, each of the blades of the wind turbine according to the determined flight pattern, wherein inspecting comprises obtaining second sensor information describing the blades of the wind turbine.

Non-transitory computer storage media storing instructions that when executed by a system of one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

• obtaining first sensor information by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the first sensor information describing physical aspects of a wind turbine, including one or more blades of the wind turbine;
• determining an orientation of the blades of the wind turbine based on the obtained first sensor information;
• determining a flight pattern for the UAV to inspect the blades of the wind turbine, wherein the flight pattern is based on the determined orientation of the blades;
• and
• inspecting by the UAV, each of the blades of the wind turbine according to the determined flight pattern, wherein inspecting comprises obtaining second sensor information describing the blades of the wind turbine.