A South Australian start-up has launched a wind turbine blade monitoring technology that it claims could save the global industry A$500m (€300m) a year.
Ping Services has introduced its second-generation Ping Monitor system that is able to “hear” the acoustic signature produced by wind turbine blades, automatically alerting operators when there is a change that indicates possible damage.
The company said its preventative maintenance technology can enable “earlier and more targeted intervention” to address blade damage.
Ping Monitor also reduces downtime, increasing the profitability of wind farm operations, and make inspection and maintenance safer for workers, Ping Services has claimed.
Ping Services chief executive Matthew Stead said: “Today marks a huge step forward for Ping Services as we take the Ping Monitor to the global market.
“Until today, we have been working with our customers on a bespoke level. With the second-generation Ping Monitor, we are ready to manufacture and export at commercial scale.
“If we got an order for one thousand second-gen Ping Monitors tomorrow, we could fill it.”
The first generation device is deployed in wind farms in Australia as well as several overseas.
Ping Services, led by Stead and Jon Cooper, has been developing the product for wind farm operators since February 2018.
The internet of Things-enabled platform uses algorithms to monitor the acoustic signature of wind turbine blades to detect damage.
The South Australian State Government backed Ping with a Research, Commercialisation and Startup Fund (RCSF) grant and Ping also raised seed funding.
South Australian Skills and Industry Minister David Pisoni said: “The Marshall Government’s investment in Matthew and Jon’s technology will now see the commercial development of this revolutionary one-of-a-kind product exported to the world.”
Ping Services is also developing acoustic sensors to detect machinery faults in industries such as resources, rail transport and manufacturing.