Utility inspections are absolutely critical for ensuring uptime and safety of the power grid, pipelines, and their surrounding areas. Whether flying over power plants, transmission towers, and distribution poles by helicopter or asking workers to climb to high altitudes in high-voltage environments, these inspections can pose serious safety risks. In some cases, safety requires so much of the inspector’s attention that the data quality of the inspection suffers. Drones can help to generate fully comprehensive inspection datasets, while their operators remain in safety on the ground.

However, not all drones are created equal. Last generation manual drones cannot be flown up close to utility structures without introducing high crash risk, so manufacturers have raced to add larger, and more expensive, camera payloads. Skydio autonomous drones can accomplish better inspections with smaller cameras simply by being able to fly closer to the subject, reducing the requirement to carry such precious camera payloads.

To learn more about the various drone options available for utility inspection, download our free eBook today!