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Analysis of institutional authors

Rodriguez-Vazquez, JCorresponding AuthorPrieto-Centeno, IAuthorFernandez-Cortizas, MAuthorPerez-Saura, DAuthorMolina, MAuthorCampoy, PAuthor

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April 11, 2024
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Real-Time Object Detection for Autonomous Solar Farm Inspection via UAVs

Publicated to:Sensors. 24 (3): 777- - 2024-02-01 24(3), DOI: 10.3390/s24030777

Authors: Rodriguez-Vazquez, J; Prieto-Centeno, I; Fernandez-Cortizas, M; Perez-Saura, D; Molina, M; Campoy, P

Affiliations

Univ Politecn Madrid UPM, Dept Artificial Intelligence - Author
UPM CSIC, Ctr Automat & Robot CAR, Calle Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2 - Author

Abstract

Robotic missions for solar farm inspection demand agile and precise object detection strategies. This paper introduces an innovative keypoint-based object detection framework specifically designed for real-time solar farm inspections with UAVs. Moving away from conventional bounding box or segmentation methods, our technique focuses on detecting the vertices of solar panels, which provides a richer granularity than traditional approaches. Drawing inspiration from CenterNet, our architecture is optimized for embedded platforms like the NVIDIA AGX Jetson Orin, achieving close to 60 FPS at a resolution of 1024 x1376 pixels, thus outperforming the camera's operational frequency. Such a real-time capability is essential for efficient robotic operations in time-critical industrial asset inspection environments. The design of our model emphasizes reduced computational demand, positioning it as a practical solution for real-world deployment. Additionally, the integration of active learning strategies promises a considerable reduction in annotation efforts and strengthens the model's operational feasibility. In summary, our research emphasizes the advantages of keypoint-based object detection, offering a practical and effective approach for real-time solar farm inspections with UAVs.

Keywords

Active learningAutonomous navigationEmbedded platformsKeypoint detectionNeural networksOnboard processingUncertainty estimation

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Sensors due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Instrumentation.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-07-17:

  • WoS: 3
  • Scopus: 8

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-17:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 12.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 18 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/82367/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 92
  • Downloads: 9

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (RODRIGUEZ VAZQUEZ, FRANCISCO JAVIER) and Last Author (CAMPOY CERVERA, PASCUAL).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been RODRIGUEZ VAZQUEZ, FRANCISCO JAVIER.