Multi-Spectral Camera combines IR, daylight, visible capabilities.

Press Release Summary:

CoroCAM 8 enables UV emissions of corona to be overlaid in real-time onto visible image or full radiometric (IR) Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) thermal camera. Inspectors can see if air and internal electrical discharges and hotspots are co-located, providing insight into cause. Able to be mounted onto UAV/UAS, camera enables video output or Ethernet video stream to be downlinked to UAV pilots display or PC. Remote control can be communicated to camera via Ethernet stream.

Original Press Release:

UViRCO Technologies Announces Production Release of the CoroCAM 8

Pretoria, South Africa — The CoroCAM 8 is the first multi-spectral camera to combine Ultraviolet (UV) emissions of corona, which can be real-time overlaid onto a Visible image or a Full Radiometric (IR) Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) thermal camera in one handheld device. The CoroCAM 8 replaces the CoroCAM family MultiCAM UV/Visible/IR imager previously offered since 2007.

Electrical discharges into air insulation cause the air to fluoresce and emit UV light enabling first day start-up detection of future damage due to corona caused nitric acid deposits. Locating electrical equipment defects due to design, installation, damage, or overloading that causes heat build-up hotspots which are detected by infrared.

The CoroCAM 8 allows inspectors to easily see if air and sometimes internal electrical discharges and hotspots are co-located, which gives the inspector more insight into the cause of the discharge / hotspot. Arcing can be easily seen by UV, micro-arcing is impossible to see with infrared.

“The CoroCAM 8 will make it possible for HV infrastructure inspectors to do both electrical discharge (corona & arcing) and hot-spot (IR) inspections in one scan.” said Riaan Rossouw, UViRCO’s Marketing & Sales Manager.

“After that one scan the inspector will be able to differentiate between external arcing activity (where the UV signature and a hotspot are co-located), overloading problems (where there is a hotspot, but no UV signature) and corona activity (where there is UV signature with insignificant hotspot).”

The UV camera at the heart of the CoroCAM 8 is UViRCO’s standard module, which has been proven in the CoroCAM 504 & CoroCAM 6D and will soon be used in the CoroCAM 7 (which replaces the CoroCAM 504 later in 2015).

The CoroCAM 8 features a high-zoom, high-resolution visible camera to give the inspector close up images of the hardware under inspection in order to identify physical damage or degradation of the hardware.

The CoroCAM 8 can easily be mounted onto a UAV/UAS and flown closer for another perspective or on a drone or helo for transmission lines. The video output or Ethernet video stream can be downlinked to the UAV pilots display or PC. Remote control can be communicated to the camera via the Ethernet stream.

The user interface for the camera was designed to be intuitive, fast and simple – yet deliver powerful features. The ergonomic rotatable grip/handle and button layout is aimed at increasing inspector endurance.

The inspector has a choice of either using the professional grade viewfinder or flip up LCD screen. The viewfinder is perfect for bright days, while the LCD screen allows secondary personnel to also view the detected discharges and thermal landscape at the same time.

UViRCO Technologies is a 2008 spin-out of the South African Council for Scientific & Industrial Research, which built the first CoroCAM in 1992 and first daylight corona camera in 1999.

UVIRCO Technologies (Pty) Ltd
P O Box 39, Persequor Technopark, 0020
Unit B003, The Woods
41 De Havilland Crescent
Persequor Technopark
Pretoria, 0020 South Africa
Tel.: 012-349 3770
Fax: 012-349-5200
E-mail: riaan@uvirco.com

Demonstrations of the CoroCAM 8 can be arranged by contacting Mr. Riaan Rossouw of UViRCO, also find more CoroCAM information and your distributor at www.uvirco.com

Contact person:
Riaan Rossouw
Marketing & Sales Manager for UViRCO Technologies
Tel: +27 (0)12 349 3760
PO Box 39
Persequor Technopark
Pretoria, 0020
South Africa
E-mail: riaan@uvirco.com