The UK’s National Grid has launched an automated drone programme that it says is the world’s first centralised, autonomous aerial inspection capability for electricity infrastructure.
Drones are increasingly being deployed in a wide range of use cases, from environmental monitoring to commercial deliveries.
They can also be very valuable for infrastructure inspections, as they allow detailed information gathering across large areas and potentially dangerous or hard-to-access sites.
The National Grid system uses a combination of autonomous capability and human oversight, with aerial drones piloted from a central control room and flying Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS).
The uncrewed aircraft will fly close to live power infrastructure, including high-voltage pylons and cables, in order to capture images and data.
They are equipped with proprietary technology from the Chichester-based private firm sees.ai that is designed to operate in complex environments.
It utilises real-time 3D mapping for autonomous flight navigation and AI-optimised image collection.
This data can seamlessly integrate with National Grid’s own platforms to inform maintenance and investment programmes across the transmission network in England and Wales.
Drones can make infrastructure maintenance “stronger, safer and cheaper”
The launch of the sees.ai technology follows a four-year innovation programme that saw the system progress from R&D to everyday use.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is working with National Grid and sees.ai on BVLOS drone deployment.
Sophie O’Sullivan, Director of Future Safety & Innovation at the CAA, said that drones had the potential to make infrastructure “stronger, safer and cheaper to maintain”.
She added that projects such as the National Grid partnership with sees.ai will help shape future policies and regulations as UK airspace is modernised to incorporate new technologies.
National Grid said that the programme would bring numerous benefits, including increasing the speed, efficiency and consistency of data processing involved in infrastructure maintenance.
Such tasks have previously involved skilled human lineworkers capturing data or making visual inspections from helicopters.
The new system will complement manned helicopter assessments, and National Grid said that this would bring environmental benefits, as well as freeing up the helicopter fleet and skilled engineers for other tasks.
Kathryn Fairhurst, Overhead Line Operations Director at National Grid, said that the technology would enable lineworkers to “focus more efficiently on the complex, hands-on work that requires human expertise”.
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