RVI
Remote Visual Inspection
RVI – Remote Visual Inspection – is the application of visual inspection at a position remote from the position of the operator performing the inspection. As well as allowing inspection of inaccessible areas, RVI is a safer alternative to an operator entering a confined space to conduct visual inspection.
RVI, as the name implies, requires the use of optical equipment to access the remote inspection site. The simplest piece of RVI kit is a boroscope, which is a rigid tube with an eyepiece on one end, a lens on the other and an optical system linking the two. A fibrescope is a flexible boroscope with a flexible fibre optic bundle linking the eyepiece with the lens. The next level of complexity of such RVI equipment is the fitting of magnifying lenses and methods of illumination.
RVI is also applied by the use of cameras attached to robotic arms. With recent advances in camera technology, smaller and higher resolution cameras are now available. Cameras and recording devices are available for use with the boroscopes and the flexiscope, allowing the inspections to be viewed on screens and recorded. LEDs can now provide enhanced illumination at the inspection site and stereoscopic systems allow depth and distance measurements to be taken.
The capability of the RVI equipment to detect the defects of concern depends upon the equipment and the level and angle of the illumination. Care needs to be taken to ensure the inspection procedure meets the detection requirements.
For more information on RVI:
Put ‘Remote Visual Inspection’ into your search engine and look at some of the many sites which are brought up.
What the hec?! articles are not intended to be the definitive account on the topic or acronym in question. Readers’ comments and contributions are welcomed. Email: ndtnews@bindt.org
RVI, as the name implies, requires the use of optical equipment to access the remote inspection site. The simplest piece of RVI kit is a boroscope, which is a rigid tube with an eyepiece on one end, a lens on the other and an optical system linking the two. A fibrescope is a flexible boroscope with a flexible fibre optic bundle linking the eyepiece with the lens. The next level of complexity of such RVI equipment is the fitting of magnifying lenses and methods of illumination.
RVI is also applied by the use of cameras attached to robotic arms. With recent advances in camera technology, smaller and higher resolution cameras are now available. Cameras and recording devices are available for use with the boroscopes and the flexiscope, allowing the inspections to be viewed on screens and recorded. LEDs can now provide enhanced illumination at the inspection site and stereoscopic systems allow depth and distance measurements to be taken.
The capability of the RVI equipment to detect the defects of concern depends upon the equipment and the level and angle of the illumination. Care needs to be taken to ensure the inspection procedure meets the detection requirements.
For more information on RVI:
Put ‘Remote Visual Inspection’ into your search engine and look at some of the many sites which are brought up.
What the hec?! articles are not intended to be the definitive account on the topic or acronym in question. Readers’ comments and contributions are welcomed. Email: ndtnews@bindt.org
