Routine indoor inspections of mines, construction sites and warehouses are critical for ensuring the commercial performance of these sites.  But traditional field inspections conducted by human surveyors are time-consuming, often incomplete (missing inaccessible or difficult-to-reach portions of site) and potentially dangerous.  When drones first appeared on the scene a decade ago, some drone companies began specializing in indoor drone inspections.  Top names include Flyability and Skydio; their state-of-the-art operations have helped many companies keep better track of their resources and equipment, eliminating costly project delays while reducing their overhead; they’ve also kept workers out of harm’s way, slashing company insurance costs.  Indoor facility inspections have become faster and cheaper – and more sustainable, too.

But even these operations, mostly conducted with remote piloting during daytime work hours, may soon become outmoded.

France-based Parrot, which is quickly emerging as a leading global competitor to China’s DJI, has recently partnered with Tinamu, which specializes in advanced sensor-based technologies to facilitate autonomous drone flying.  The two companies are developing a new capability that will allow Parrot’s indoor inspection drones to fly autonomously without remote piloting – and at all hours, day or night.  Using state-of-the-art “drone-in-a-box” technology, the company’s drones will take off and land – and their batteries periodically  recharged – at their own automated docking and storage stations.  Once positioned in the field at the outset, the need for human intervention will be completely eliminated.

Timanu’s technology also incorporates an advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence capability.  Parrot’s drones won’t simply fly, they’ll also learn as they go, making adjustments to their pre-programmed flight schedules to account for evolving conditions at the inspection sites, as well as changing environmental conditions.  Weak areas of the facility or the perimeter will be identified and the drone inspection schedule, focus and intensity adjusted – automatically.

Parrots indoor inspection drones come equipped with a battery of sensors that allow the aircraft to navigate around obstacles to avoid crashes or collisions.  And the data the drones collect using high-powered zoom cameras – enhanced with adjustable LED lighting and infrared imaging – can be stored for later viewing and analysis.

The upshot?  Indoor inspections that once took days or even weeks to complete can now be completed in a matter of hours – and given the reduced cost and improved efficiency – can be conducted far more regularly – almost daily, if needed.  Drones, properly deployed, can replace field inspectors, perimeter security teams and expensive stationary surveillance systems – to say nothing of drone pilots and support teams.  The work can be conducted at the touch of a button, or simply set to a timer and left to self-activate.  And with the introduction of new more advanced and fully automated data analytics systems, even the need for highly-trained computer technicians is being reduced.

Parrot’s ANAFI USA drone, with its 4K camera and 90° upward tilt, already has earned a reputation in industry as a state-of-the art inspection drone, especially for critical infrastructure, including bridges, power grids and pipelines.  But with the addition of Tinamu’s AI-driven sensor and visual surveillance capabilities and advanced data analytics, Parrot’s ANAFI drone is now fully automated to provide the most efficient and cost-effective way to survey virtually any facility, round the clock.  It can allow companies to monitor and adjust their resource and equipment use for maximum efficiency, all the while reducing workplace accidents and injuries, and enhancing sustainability.  Drone inspections – indoor or out – may never be the same.