Autonomous Confined Space Inspection using Drones

Confined spaces currently account for around 15 deaths per year in the UK alone -- a loss rate which can and should be diminished to zero, through the use of technology in large infrastructure projects. HyBird is developing technology to meet this target through autonomous confined space UAV solutions, comprising a small, lightweight, collision-tolerant smart drone, an autonomous deployment docking station, and an AI-based in-situ material characterisation and threat detection and inspection software. These capabilities will minimise the need to send personnel into potentially hazardous environments -- and will analyse and assess the environment for threats/dangers in case it is required for one to enter. In addition to the human safety cost, extreme environments cost infrastructure projects billions of pounds each year due to defects, site down-time, and labour costs. Deployment of such a system can reduce the cost of inspection by in excess of 80%, whilst drastically improving productivity -- through early defect detection, and reduced down-time. HyBird's autonomous UAV solution will directly benefit asset owners, as well as service providers in the infrastructure/construction space; for a relatively small investment, the return on investment is realised through reduced project costs, lower health and safety risk, greater quality analytics, service transparency, and ultimately more business opportunities.