Drone based Virtual Reality System for Inspection of Oil and Gas Platform

Abstract

A simulation study on oil rigs inspection via virtual reality system using drones aiming to increase the efficiency of the work done during the pandemic era is presented. The usage of drones in virtual reality environment does not only provide sufficient on-site training for the operators, also able to reduce time consumption and labor demands in carrying out inspections and eliminate errors of drone crashing and hazards. Thus, this project covers the construction of virtual simulation framework using drones via Unity 3D, an open-source game engine and multi-rotor drones are selected as the drive mechanism due to its best maneuverability and stability. A 3D model of oil rig is constructed using Unity 3D that consist of equipment such as vessels, tanks, cranes, control rooms and flares like the real-life oil rigs. A 3D model of multi-rotor drone is also developed to produce a dynamic model that can wander around the oil platform. The process of scripting is done in Visual Studio 2019 using C# programming language which is one of the Unity 3D tools, making it essential for modelling and simulation development. Virtual reality features are gained with the presence of virtual headsets, static 3D modelling of oil rigs and dynamic 3D modelling of multi-rotor drones. The use of virtual reality system using drones in oil and gas platform has been successfully integrated to obtain the simulation result.