Autonomous drone inspection for power lines and pylons
Power lines and pylons span hundreds of kilometres, often across terrain that is difficult or dangerous to access on foot. Traditional inspection, helicopters, cherry pickers, ground teams, is slow, expensive, and constrained by weather and access. Faults that go undetected between inspection cycles become failures.
Avy's long-range autonomous drone network makes frequent, cost-effective inspection of large energy networks operationally viable for the first time. We have conducted power grid inspection operations with major European transmission system operators.
What Avy detects
The Aera captures detailed visual and infrared imagery of power grid infrastructure in a single autonomous flight. AI-assisted processing, both onboard and in the cloud, flags anomalies for review. Detected fault types include:
Pylon access and vegetation encroachment, hidden foundations, corrosion and paint condition, climb guards and foundation integrity, insulators and fittings, pooling water, jumper connections, bird nests, warning spheres, and thermal anomalies detected via infrared.
What Avy does for energy networks
Power line inspection
The Aera covers up to 100km on a single charge, following transmission line corridors and capturing detailed EO and IR imagery of lines, pylons, insulators, and connecting hardware. Scheduled autonomous flights mean inspection frequency can increase significantly without increasing operational cost.
Pylon inspection
Close-range imagery of individual pylons, structural integrity, corrosion, connection points, captured autonomously without the need for helicopter access or specialist climbing teams. The 360-degree gimbal camera with 80x EO zoom and IR capability covers everything from foundation to top fitting.
AI-assisted fault detection
Onboard processing flags detections in real time during flight. Cloud-based analysis delivers a structured report after landing. Your team reviews flagged items rather than raw footage.
Remote and inaccessible terrain
Energy infrastructure often runs through areas that are difficult or dangerous to reach by ground. The Avy system operates from a fixed docking station and flies the corridor autonomously, removing the need for teams to access hazardous locations.
Avy works with energy network operators and infrastructure owners across Europe. Contact us to discuss autonomous inspection for your network.