Wind Desktop Uploader

• Sep 23, 2025
• Knowledge

Article Details

This user guide contains the work steps necessary to upload data collected during wind turbine blade inspections.

1. Initial Set Up - Settings Tab
2. Retrieving Assigned Turbines
3. Using the Uploader in the Field
4. Auto & Manual Flight Collection
5. Alternate Methods of Transferring Images into the Uploader
6. Image QC
7. Uploads
8. Support

Initial Set Up - Settings Tab

Upon initial login, set up your application preferences by navigating to the “Settings” tab.

General Tab:

• App Update

  • This displays the current version of the Pilot Uploader that is being used.
  • Whenever a new version is released, the app will automatically ask if you would like to update it.

• Root Folder

  • Start by selecting a Root Folder location; this is where the tool will generate folders to store the collected turbine data. Given the amount of data typically being collected, it is recommended to utilize an external hard drive as the root directory.
  • When the root folder is set, a new folder will be created in that location called “Pilot Uploader Images”.

• Move or Copy

  • This applies to when dragging photos from the SD card into the uploader.
  • "Move" will remove the images from the SD card and place them in the root folder.
  • "Copy" will copy the images off the SD card and place them in the root folder. This is the recommended setting.

• Fetching Sites and Missions

  • Here the pilot can select whether to automatically fetch new sites upon the application being opened or if you log in/reload the app.

• Your App Data

  • Thumbnails can be deleted at the pilot’s discretion, but it is recommended that the logs are not deleted often.

Turbines Tab:

• Blade Upload Warning

  • A warning will be displayed after clicking the “Upload Assets” button if the image count is outside of the defined threshold between each blade.
  • The recommended setting is 10%.

• Sort Turbine Images by Timestamp or Altitude

  • Sorting images by timestamp is recommended for autoflight

• Disable Utiliflight and Geotagger on Drag-and-Drop

  • If the drag and drop method is not sorting properly, turn this off to sort manually by dragging one blade at a time. In most circumstances, this should be unchecked.

Uploading Tab:

• Maximum Uploads

  • Select a number between 1 and 5 using the slider. A lower number should be used with slow internet.

• Upload Estimates Refresh

  • Select a number between 1 and 10 using the slider.

Retrieving Assigned Turbines

Selecting “Fetch New Sites” will load any new sites/turbines that you have been assigned. The Fetching Sites and Missions settings selected above will determine if/when this step may be automatically performed.

Using the Uploader in the Field

The Pilot Uploader supports offline use. To use offline mode, verify the following before losing internet connection:

1. Verify that the appropriate sites are displayed under “My Sites”.
2. Verify that the site and turbines are displayed in the root directory location.

The quickest way to do this is to find the site under “My Sites” in the uploader and click “Open on Desktop”. If using an external hard drive for the root directory, make sure it is plugged in.

Auto & Manual Flight Collection

Auto Flight Collection:

Once the automated flight has been completed, drag the photos from the SD card into the Pilot Uploader. Complete the following steps:

1. Complete the rotor-set inspection utilizing the auto flight software

2. Pull the SD card from the drone and insert it into the computer

3. Open Pilot Uploader

4. Locate the site under “My Sites”

5. Click into the appropriate turbine

6. Highlight the photos on the SD card and drag them into the black space. The software will automatically sort all the photos into the applicable blade and passes based on how the blades were collected.

7. Review the images for data quality and coverage before putting the turbine back online and leaving the turbine. Refer to Section 8.

8. Reviewing the images for quality and content after each turbine collection should result in zero missed images and no necessary reflights. Reflights result in lost production for pilots, Zeitview, and the customer.

Manual Flight Collection:

Complete the Following Steps:

1. Fly an individual wind turbine blade
2. Remove the SD card from the drone and insert it into the computer
3. Open Pilot Uploader
4. Locate the site under “My Sites”
5. Click into the appropriate turbine
6. Select the blade (highlights turquoise)
7. Highlight the corresponding blade photos on the SD card and drag them into the black space
8. Repeat the above process for all 3 blades
9. Review the images for data quality and coverage before putting the turbine back online and leaving the turbine. Refer to Section 8.
10. Reviewing the images for quality and content after each turbine collection should result in zero missed images and no necessary reflights. Reflights result in lost production for pilots, Zeitview, and the customer.

Alternate Methods of Transferring Images into the Uploader

Complete the Following Steps:

1. Complete the rotor-set inspection utilizing the AutoFlight software
2. Pull the SD card from the drone and insert it into the computer
3. Locate the appropriate turbine folder in your selected root directory. This can be done by clicking on “Open on Desktop” in the Pilot Uploader. Or, by manually navigating to it via the file viewer/explorer.
4. For AutoFlight - Highlight all the photos, from that flight, on the SD card and drag them into the “Utiliflight” folder
5. For Manual collection - Highlight the photos on the SD card one blade at a time and drag them into the applicable blade folder
6. Open Pilot Uploader
7. Click on “My Sites”
8. Locate the site and click “View Turbines”
9. Select the wind turbine
10. Click “Import” in the top right-hand corner
11. You should see all the images sorted into the correct blade and pass folders. If so, then you can proceed to the Image QC and Upload steps below.
12. If neither dragging and dropping into the uploader nor the above two methods properly sort the images into the correct blades and passes, you will need to manually sort the images into the correct pass folders in the root directory, then select import in the Pilot Uploader following the above steps for those tasks.

Image QC

Once the pilot is done collecting for the day and has connectivity, the QC and upload process can begin. It is important that, at the end of the day and before uploading, there’s an additional QC process. Zeitview and the customer only need the minimum set of images for the turbine that provide full coverage from root to tip, unless told otherwise by project management. When reasonable, please delete any extra images from the queue. Some indications of extra images may be the discrepancy in the number of images between each blade and each blade pass.

In the following example, the LE has an extra image of the hub which should be removed.

In the following screenshot, images can be removed from all four passes at the tip. The SS, PS, and TE passes all have either duplicate tip images or images of the sky. Multiple images can be selected by holding the “CTRL” (Windows) or the “Command” (Mac) button and clicking on the images.

Repeat the above process for the other two blades.

When there are two images that are very similar, please review each image to ensure that the image with the best resolution, focus, exposure, etc. is selected and the other(s) are removed.

In addition to extra tip and root images, please note during your flights whenever you retake images of a section of the blade, restart a pass, or refly an entire pass or blade. We only need one set of the best imagery that provides full coverage and overlap of the blade without the extraneous images.

Going through this process will improve the efficiency of the process throughout the remainder of the workflow resulting in less data to upload, store, and process, as well as resulting in a better deliverable within the Insights platform.

Uploads

Once data import and selection are complete, select “Upload Assets”. You do not need to be online to complete this step. The upload process will begin when the program is open, and the application status shows as “Connected” in the upper right corner.

By navigating to the Upload Manager tab at the top of the application you will be able to monitor the status of all turbines queued for upload. If there are any errors, each row is selectable, which opens a slide out with the status of each image. This slide-out allows you to retry the upload of images, or further information and bug logs can be found by selecting “View Details.”

Support

If any issues arise, or support is needed, email your Zeitview manager. Please include screenshots, a description of the issue, and the entire logs folder which can be located by going to the “Debugging Tools” drop-down and selecting “Open App Data.”

Properties

Title: Wind Desktop Uploader
Article Created Date: 9/19/2025 6:44 AM
URL Name: Insights-Property-Insights-User-GuideWind-Desktop-Uploader
Created By: Jason Norat, 9/23/2025 1:43 PM
Last Published Date: 9/23/2025 1:44 PM