Oil and gas companies employ a variety of tools to inspect their pipelines to prevent leaks and spills and to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulations. Inspection gauges, SCADA control systems, fiber-optic cables, small manned aircraft and ground teams are all useful for giving companies in-depth pipeline spot checks to mitigate a potential disaster,   But these conventional inspection methods are expensive and not always sustained and comprehensive enough to catch problems before they worsen.

In recent years, some companies have turned to drones to provide the continuous full-length monitoring and high-quality data at a consistent cadence, providing them with the proactive pipeline integrity management that can keep the company and the communities it serves protected from unnecessary exposure and injury.

Canada-based SkyX is one of the leaders in this expanding field of commercial drone application.  Its pipeline inspection drones, first developed in 2017, are actually hybrid aircraft with overhead propellers that allow for vertical lift-off and landing but also fixed wings that allow it to fly forward at speeds up to 75 mph.   for a distance of 65 miles – on a single charge.  While other inspection drones may have to pause and recharge frequently to complete a lengthy pipeline inspection, SkyX’s contracts include the installation of automated battery charging units at the pipeline’s own pumping stations, allowing SkyX drones to land, recharge and relaunch to conduct inspections continuously, for the full-length of the pipeline. with only minor delays

SkyX drones are also designed to fly in the extreme heat or cold, in temperatures as low as minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  They can inspect facilities during all four seasons and in nearly all latitudes, making them among the most durable and versatile inspection drones currently available on the market.

Chairman & CEO Didi Horn began his career in the Israeli Air Force and spent several years flying manned and unmanned aircraft in a range of special operations missions requiring flexibility and stealth – an experience he soon brought to bear when he moved to Canada and founded SkyX.  Horn’s especially keen on deploying the most advanced infrared thermal camera and data analytic technologies to allow his clients to zoom in on minute alterations in their infrastructure – including small stress fractures and early signs of rust and corrosion – to anticipate and forecast potential problems to allow for prompt remediation.  The company builds all of its own hardware and software systems and prides itself on being able to deploy to the field within 30-40 days of signing any new contract.

SkyX began its work in oil and pipeline inspections – largely because of the enormous value-added provided by drones – but Horn says the company is prepared to work in any sector where continuous long-distance inspections and advanced data analytics are needed, including fire-fighting and humanitarian relief.

One of its latest clients is a Middle Eastern government that wants to monitor water pollution levels associated with its oil shipping operations.  SkyX doesn’t just sell the government its drone technology but also assists its Environmental Ministry to develop monitoring and detection systems and the training and tactical operations needed to achieve its leak-prevention and remediation goals.

Horn says SkyX is committed to continuous improvement. When the company realized how costly its custom-built charging stations were to design and manufacture, it decided to turn to an outside supplier, Design 1st, for help in mass producing them.  Design 1st reconfigured a small shipping container currently on the market for use as an enclosed charging unit that can receive SkyX drones automatically and allow them to be recharged promptly without the need to switch or replace batteries, the modality that other companies, including Matternet, use.  The redesign and testing took just 7 months and SkyX never skipped a beat with its expanding stable of oil and gas pipeline customers.

Horn says his company has stayed away from the retail delivery market but does plan to expand into the medical supply niche.  SkyX currently boasts four major investors, including Almond Tree Investing and the Tokyo-based Drone Fund.  Last January, the company took away 5 prestigious technology awards at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  Amazingly, Horn has accomplished these impressive feats in just seven years with a small team of crack aeronautical, robotic and data system experts.

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