Energy Drone & Robotics Brief | Dec. 27, 2024

Goodbye Hazardous Inspections, Hello Automation

Industrial inspections are getting a whole lot cooler (and safer, and faster, and, dare we say, smarter).

Our recent article recaps Haydn Bradfield’s (of DroneDeploy) session at the 2024 Energy Drone & Robotics Summit: "Under the Hood: A Practical How-to in Automating Industrial Inspections."

Here’s a taste of what you’ll find:

• How robots are going from “novelty” to “boring”—and why that’s a great thing
• Drones collecting 360° site data for your very own Google Street View
• Robots delivering data so insightful, you’ll think of them as part of the team
• How all this happens without you breaking a sweat—or the bank?

If you’re searching for ways to simplify inspections while improving safety and efficiency, this article is for you. The robots may be doing the heavy lifting, but they still need a team like yours to call the shots.

Read the full recap of Bradfield’s session and access the recording?

Inspections, Reinvented: Welcome to Automation Nation

Downtime is costly. Power outages cost the U.S. economy $150 billion annually. That’s enough to make your spreadsheets cry. And it’s enough to send business leaders searching for methods to prevent downtime and correct it quickly when it happens.

Enter autonomous inspections.

Think of them as your new overachieving team member—working faster and smarter. With drones and AI-powered analytics, businesses are cutting inspection times by 80%, slashing costs, and avoiding the financial sinkholes of extended downtime.

And another benefit? They’ll even help you sweet-talk your insurance provider into lower premiums.

Read the full story for more on the ROI of autonomous inspections

Power Up Your New Year at the 9th Annual EDR Summit!

Start 2025 strong by planning your place at THE premier event for industrial drone, robotics, digital twin and AI innovation. Whether you're planning to exhibit, speak, attend, or all of the above, the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit 2025 is your launchpad for groundbreaking connections, cutting-edge tech, and big ideas.

Don’t wait—make it your New Year’s resolution to lead the future of industrial drones & robotics and grow your network in the new year. Take action today!

WHAT ELSE?

• Schaeffler has embraced the NavVis VLX, a wearable 3D scanner from NavVis, to capture indoor environments in 360o and integrate them into its digital twin platform, NavVis Ivion. With this technology, a 500,000-square-foot factory can be scanned in less than a week. To date, the company has created digital twins for 48 factories, scanning over 16 million square feet. With this digital twin technology, project lead times for data capture are up to 80% shorter compared to traditional methods.
• Undocumented orphaned wells pose hazards to both the environment and the climate. Scientists are building modern tools to help locate, assess, and pave the way for ultimately plugging these forgotten relics. To better predict where the undocumented wells might be, researchers first pair the new with the old: modern artificial intelligence (AI) and historical topographic maps.
• Videosoft Global is diving into the offshore energy industry’s transformative operational shift, largely driven by the availability of real-time video streaming technology and USVs. Working alongside global energy suppliers, USV specialists, and local vendors, Videosoft demonstrates how live video streaming is revolutionizing asset management.
• Teledyne Geospatial and Inertial Labs have launched EchoONE, an advancement in airborne laser scanning technology that integrates LiDAR and camera technology with the Remote Sensing Payload Instrument (RESEPI).
• Nokia and Motorola Solutions have partnered to launch an AI-enhanced turnkey automated drone-in-a-box solution that provides first responders and other mission-critical industries with enhanced situational awareness, streamlined remote operations, and faster decision-making.
• ANYbotics, a global provider of AI-driven robotic inspection offerings, has raised an additional $60 million, bringing its total funding to over $130 million. The new funding is led by Qualcomm Ventures and Supernova Invest, with participation from TDK Ventures and other new investors.
• Square Robot, Inc. successfully closed its Series B funding round in November 2024. The funding will drive the company’s domestic and international expansion to meet accelerating global demand for its innovative services.

ABOUT US

The Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition is focused on innovating energy operations with dynamic UAV, Robotics, Data and Automation solutions.

The Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition (aka EDR Coalition or EDRC) is a forum dedicated to launching, growing and scaling enterprise unmanned systems operations in energy companies worldwide by bringing the leaders in the drone and robotics ecosystem together with the energy industrial complex asset owners and end users.

The EDRC brings innovators together to advance the industry through digital resource sharing (like the weekly Energy Drone & Robotics Newsroom, resources on the website, blogs, podcasts and webinars), as well as live, virtual and hybrid events (including the annual Global Gathering, as well as smaller meetups throughout the year).

Subscribe and every Tuesday get the top use cases, projects and tech to stay in-the-loop on industrial drones, robotics, automation, geospatial and AI!