See the Whole Picture: Why Internal Blade Inspections Matter

When it comes to wind turbine maintenance, what you can’t see can cost you. Zeitview’s internal blade inspections use robotics and high-resolution imaging to reveal hidden defects before they become expensive failures, improving safety and long-term asset performance. 

External drone inspections have become an industry standard, giving fast, high-resolution visibility into the outside condition of turbine blades. But to truly understand blade health, it’s no longer enough to look at the surface alone.

That’s why internal blade inspections are now a critical part of comprehensive blade asset management—and why we’ve built technology to bring both internal and external views together in a single platform.

Why Inside the Blade Matters

Internal damage to a turbine blade - whether from cracks, voids, or even lightning strikes - is often invisible from the outside. That’s why internal inspections are critical for catching issues before they become serious structural risks.

For example:

• Laminate cracks may remain invisible from the outside until they grow large enough to break through the surface.
  
  
• Lightning strikes can cause burn-through or delamination that compromise the blade’s core without much external evidence.
  
  
• Glue voids or wrinkling in manufacturing can become fatigue points over time, unnoticed until a major repair is needed.
  
  

With internal inspections, we can detect these issues earlier—before they lead to costly failures or turbine downtime.

What’s New: Unified Blade Health in One View

We now provide internal and external inspection results together inside our Wind Insights platform. That means teams can review every defect, image, and video—whether from the inside or out—in one place. You can scroll through defects by location and compare internal and external anomalies to quickly diagnose issues on your asset. 

Whether it’s a crack on the pressure side, a damaged lightning protection cable, or a delamination near the leading edge, you can now see it all together, with precision and context.

How We’re Making Internal Inspections Better

Internal blade inspections have traditionally been time-consuming, risky, and error-prone. Manual methods often lack critical metadata, such as precise location and orientation, which makes reviewing and analysing findings after the fact both challenging and cumbersome. Our approach improves the process by delivering safer inspections, richer data, and easier post-processing, helping turn imagery into action. 

• Safety-first robotics: Our inspections eliminate the need for confined space entry by using robotic crawlers and caged drones. This reduces technician risk, ensures more consistent image capture, and helps meet safety compliance standards.
  
  
• High-resolution 360 degree capture: Our 360° high-resolution imagery allows users to look around, providing visibility as if there were a technician inside the blade, ensuring you never miss an anomaly. 
  
  
• Comprehensive Visual Access: Customers can view internal and external inspections side-by-side to fully assess defect severity.
  
  

Tailored to Your Blade, Your Way

Every turbine, every fleet, and every operator has different needs. That’s why we offer a multimodal internal inspection approach – from targeted pre-commissioning checks to full 360° blade surveys. Whether you’re looking for speed, detail, or both, we’ll help match the method to your maintenance goals. 

• Caged drones offer fast coverage and flexibility, ideal for quick health checks and targeted campaigns in the root region, but with limited reach and lower payload resolution
  
  
• Internal crawlers can accommodate larger cameras and sensors, delivering higher resolution and enhanced visibility for more thorough inspections deeper into the blade.
  
  

Know What’s Happening Inside Your Blades—Before It Becomes a Problem

By combining internal and external blade inspections into a unified experience, we're helping customers make faster, smarter, and safer maintenance decisions. The result? Reduced risk. Fewer surprises. Lower repair costs. And a clearer path to long-term performance.

Ready to see the full picture? Download our solution overview today!