Drone Inspections

Forced to think out of the box and come up with a safer way to demonstrate the integrity of remediated nuclear waste sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, a South Carolina contractor is now turning to drone-based aerial inspections.

When it first sought to boost business and improve the quality of its service, bridge inspection specialist Japan Infrastructure Waymark (JIW) turned to drones – yet was quickly disappointed with the performance delivered. Rather than dump the entire technology, however, JIW pivoted to automated, AI-enhanced Skydio craft and watched its activity blast off.

Much debate – and excitement – has arisen from President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 billion project to repair the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Yet almost nothing has been said about how drones may contribute to that revamp. Some observers believe their role could prove invaluable.

Sometimes it’s the modest, seemingly mundane ways that drones affect how people live and work that best illustrate the integral roles they now assume in daily life. Take, for example, how they’ve helped a budget-strapped organization cut the time and costs of repairing three Edwardian-era bridges in the east of England.

The Hernando de Soto Bridge, a crucial Interstate 40 bridge between Arkansas and Tennessee, was shut down indefinitely on May 11 following the discovery of a major crack in a steel support beam critical for the structure of the bridge. But now, an old drone inspection video has surfaced, showing damage in the same area as early as May 2019.

Norway-based DNV, an independent expert in assurance and risk management, has launched a research project to develop a framework for data verification and validation in fully automated drone inspections of wind turbine blades.

Information technology company IBM is joining forces with Dronehub, a Poland-based manufacturer of drone-in-a-box systems, to automate drone inspection missions with machine learning and AI solutions.

SSEN Transmission has stepped its drone presence up a notch by utilizing Cyberhawk’s iHawk drone data collection platform. The platform’s introduction has allowed SSEN to inspect and monitor over 11,500 transmission towers and almost 150 substations across the Scottish Utility Network.

Norwegian-based drone inspection company Scout Drone Inspection has secured 27.5 krone ($3.2) million in funding to develop its drones and related technologies further. The funding round was lead by Equinor Ventures and DNV, with support from existing shareholders.

Estonian drone company Hepta Airborne has announced a freemium version of its uBrid platform to allow more people to benefit from it. The company has perfected the software for the last couple of years, working with clients to improve it.

Iris Automation is working with Aerial Production Services (APS) to help jump-start FAA-approved pipeline inspections. The two are helping a client switch from satellite and plane images for inspections to high-quality drone images.

Auterion, which you may recall is the largest open-source drone software platform, has partnered with project management firm C2 Group. The company will be deploying Auterion-powered drones for a number of use-case scenarios in the critical infrastructure and utilities industries.

Four years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, drones are being used to inspect other towers in the UK to ensure the cladding is safe or removed if not. The drones have been able to speed up inspection times and drastically lower costs.

PrecisionHawk has announced a multiyear alliance with American Tower to make cell tower inspections safer and more efficient. PrecisionHawk will hand over its AI-backed cell tower inspection software to American Tower to use on upcoming inspections.

Autonomous surveillance and inspection drone company Azur Drones has tested its Skeyetech drone-in-a-box at the Orano La Hague nuclear fuel site in France. The drones will aid the security and surveillance team currently deployed at the site.

The Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico met its sad fate when it unexpectedly collapsed. An inspection drone was in the air at the time of the collapse, as we now have aerial footage of the support wires giving way.

Finnish energy company Järvi-Suomen Energia has turned to drone company Hepta Airborne to inspect its powerline network with drones. The drones will first be used to inspect powerlines after storms as a part of a test before the company moves to drones permanently.

Percepto has announced it has secured $45 million in funding led by Koch Disruptive Technologies and is partnering with Boston Dynamics to introduce autonomous ground and aerial inspections to industrial sites.

The FAA has granted Verizon Skyward a temporary waiver that allows its pilots to inspect critical communications infrastructure near the Big Hollow wildfire in Washington from home using network-connected drones. The pilots are allowed to operate 24 hours a day with less than three miles of visibility and no person onsite to monitor the operation.

Aerodyne has partnered with the leading infrastructure provider in the Middle East, Al-Babtain LeBlanc to transform inspections with drone technology. The partnership will allow both companies to leverage each other’s strengths and make a mark in local markets.

Aerodyne Measure has announced a partnership with Mexico’s renewable energy provider, Ecopulse to provide AI-backed aerial inspections. Aerodyne Measure will work to provide aerial inspections of Ecopulse’s energy assets throughout Mexico.