This presentation outlines the Non-Intrusive Optical (NIO) technology for optical measurement of in-situ, operational heliostat mirrors in concentrating solar power tower plants. NIO is a photogrammetric process that uses a camera mounted to an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS). We first capture the edge of the central tower reflected in the heliostat. By extracting heliostat features using deep learning object detection and computer-vision techniques, we can precisely determine camera positions, detect the reference in the image, and use this data to describe errors in the mirror. NIO is rapid, inexpensive, and does not interfere with plant operations. It requires only an off-the-shelf UAS with an appropriate camera to use.
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