Earlier this year I looked at a project to develop so called self-repairing cities. The project, which originates in Leeds, uses robots to monitor and then repair various aspects of cities, from roads to utilities.

Suffice to say, that may be a little way off, but the road to automation is nonetheless one that many authorities are going down. The Electric Power Research Institute recently held a workshop, for instance, to help utilities choose drones for the maintenance of power lines.

Automated inspections

Utility companies are believed to spend millions each year inspecting power lines, with many of them in very hard to reach areas. As such, it’s a natural place for using drones to do the work instead.

Their widespread application in America has largely been held back by the FAA requirements for certifications for commercial operators. There are also a number of criteria that must be met regarding the drone itself.

Nevertheless, a number of utilities have gained FAA approval for testing out drones this year, with a number of tests undertaken on things such as wind turbines, utility poles and transformers.

“When you look at the amount of information we can gain to make accurate decisions about our systems, and look at the cost and time savings, this is a huge opportunity for us,” said Andrew Bordine, a Consumers Energy executive.

Cost and safety implications

The company spends several hundred thousand dollars a year sending inspectors out to monitor its energy network. The same monitoring can be done autonomously for much less money.

It can also make the whole process significantly safer as you don’t require people to be dangling from precarious positions to do the inspections visually.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that 17 deaths occurred to utility workers last year, so anything that reduces that number has to be applauded.

The use of drones in a monitoring capacity is growing in popularity, with industries as diverse as agriculture to oil making use of the devices to map and inspect their domains in a safe and cost effective manner.

It seems to be a concept that has found its time, and as soon as regulators catch up with the technology it will mushroom in popularity.