UAV with OGI Camera Designed for Leak Detection & Repair

Wade Wicklund's unique design of a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a optical gas imaging (OGI) camera transforms hydrocarbon leak detection, a growing in-demand service By Joe Macey / 12 Jan 2024

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Leak detection and repair services are now able to be conducted in an effective, safe, and innovative manner due to the work that Wade Wicklund, Branch Manager and Chief Pilot of Clean Harbors’ Unmanned Aerial Systems division, is leading through the design of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a optical gas imaging (OGI) camera.

Workers once needed to conduct dangerous leak detection inspections with handheld gas monitors for leak detection and repair (LDAR), which is the process of monitoring equipment containing gasses and chemicals, and now these inspections and services can be conducted efficiently using Wade Wicklund’s UAV with an OGI camera.

By dispatching drones fashioned with top-grade equipment into potentially hazardous spaces, companies are currently able to profit through the decreased health, financial, and safety risks that accompany LDAR.

Working alongside a provider of environmental compliance Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) personnel, processes and technology, HPC Industrial, Wade Wicklund is said to be pioneering this tool in a rapidly growing industry. 

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Posted by Joe Macey Joseph Macey is a Content Specialist at Unmanned Systems Technology. Since joining in 2022, he has focused on emerging technologies in unmanned systems, with particular expertise in Counter-UAS, communication systems, and camera technologies. A graduate of Falmouth University in Journalism, Joseph began his career in 2019 as a local reporter. His journalism experience not only sharpens his reporting but also enhances his ability to conduct in-depth interviews, enabling him to deliver authoritative insights on the latest industry trends. Connect
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