Skydio’s new tech partner makes drone inspections faster, more efficient

Drone maker Skydio is joining forces with Toronto-based software company Qii.AI to make automated infrastructure inspections more efficient and effective for customers in North America.

Qii.AI is a web-based platform that facilitates remote, collaborative inspections of critical infrastructure assets such as bridges, dams, and wind turbines. The software uses computer vision and machine learning to improve the inspection process with computer-assisted detection and quantification of corrosion, cracking, delamination, and other problems in steel and concrete.

Now, with this new partnership between the two companies, customers using Skydio 3D Scan software will be able to utilize Qii.AI’s computer-assisted detection and quantification of corrosion-related defects.

Read: Skydio drones get new autonomous subject tracking skill, Scout

According to Qii.AI, the integration will make inspections of large, complex structures significantly more efficient, while reducing the time required by inspectors to identify and classify defects. Here’s Qii.AI CEO Michael H. Cohen:

Skydio’s computer vision navigation and autonomous data capture capabilities, combined with the Qii system’s automatic corrosion, crack, and defect detection algorithms, are a leap forward in remote digital inspection possibilities.

It’s worth mentioning that Skydio and Qii.AI have already demonstrated their collective power to the Canadian Department of National Defense by enabling the automatic detection and quantification of corrosion on naval ship hulls earlier this year.

During a day-long demonstration, Skydio drones captured data from two naval ships using Skydio 3D Scan, and created digital twins of both ships before seamlessly importing the models through the Skydio Cloud API into the Qii system for auto-detection, classification, and quantification of visible corrosion.

The success of this joint demonstration encouraged the companies to offer a joint solution, the results of which are currently available for viewing at Qii’s booth at the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas.

Read: Skydio drones automate Sydney Harbour Bridge inspections