How Drones Help Inspections, Mapping, Surveying…

By flying around the object and using its camera (and additional sensors), drones capture more data and at higher quality than a person taking photos or notes. And re-positioning the drone is a matter of seconds rather than minutes (as it would be with a person climbing or hanging on to hazardous infrastructure). Additionally, using drones for energy-related inspections can also be less expensive. There is no need for scaffolding, cranes, or rope access, and there is a large reduction of working hours required to complete the inspection. There is also a very high indirect savings by not having to shut down the flare stack, turbine, or powerline for the inspection. And perhaps most importantly, the use of a drone for energy infrastructures instead of a human will keep these people out of dangerous situations.

In a nutshell: Drones can carry out inspections much more quickly and accurately than a human being.

Besides inspections, drones are also better at mapping and surveying objects thanks to LiDAR, thermal and other types of sensors that can be equipped on the drone to build better?as-built models. Once again, depending on the drone’s equipment, these models can catch details with a 1mm per pixel accuracy and help render 3D models of an area. And when it comes to location and tracking tasks, drones can cover more area more quickly by air than a person on the ground. Perhaps the only similar alternative would be the use of a helicopter, though these can be extremely expensive.

Find out more about the use of drones in energy-related activities in our report: