Utilities: Distribution Network Inspection Drones

Minimize risks while maximizing asset longevity with aerial inspections.

See how a drone program can dramatically improve your safety and long-term maintenance objectives.

Respond to outages and conduct planned inspections 3x faster.

Skydio x10 drone inspecting insulator connection in a utilities substation

Get high-resolution imagery within arm's reach of transformers, insulators, and lines, capturing detailed data on any asset far faster than manual crews, even in high-EMI environments.

Get up close with X10

Starting from your existing asset systems of record, automate planned inspections and incident response at a scale utilities haven't had access to before.

Scale up with Asset Command

Skydio Asset command desktop manage multiple drone inspection missions

Inspect faster, fly easy, capture more.

Aerial view of a road with power lines running along them

Capture images and video of any part of the distribution network.

Locate breaks and identify maintenance needs faster with aerial inspections powered by Skydio. No need to call in specialists, assign inspectors to dangerous situations, or mobilize cumbersome bucket truck crews. Now, you can swiftly maneuver into highly energized, obstacle-rich environments to get the shots you need and limit service interruptions.

Workers holding a Skydio drone controller

Get airborne without a heavy training burden.

Proficient in a few minutes and expert in just hours, your existing crew can capture the data they need without hiring additional pilots. Our market-leading autonomous technology makes it easy to navigate around obstacles without crashing. Any operator, no matter their skill level, can confidently fly power line inspections in complex environments, avoiding trees, lines, and poles.

Aerial drone view of power lines amongst trees

Collect the highest quality inspection data, every time.

Gather high-precision data on substations and utility poles to diagnose and plan repairs faster. Reposition quickly to capture every angle on your shot list. Skydio’s navigation system – unlike traditional drones’ – is unaffected by electromagnetic interference (EMI), so you can maneuver through charged lines without a hitch.

Skydio Asset command plan inspections around your asset records

Make every flight part of a connected inspection program.

Asset Command turns your distribution network asset records into ready-to-fly missions. Schedule repeat inspections, catch condition changes between visits, and respond faster when an outage happens, all without adding headcount.

Top utilities trust Skydio to monitor critical infrastructure.

Jake ReedProgram Manager - Center for Customer Reliability, American Electric Power

“

We track our savings realized, our customer minutes of interruption avoided, everything down to the mileage that we've flown with these drones. Over the last two and a half years, we've avoided about 30 million customer minutes of interruption...So the more drones we have, there's potential to save even more.”

Three more reasons utility professionals love Skydio

Thermal Equipped

Identify heat and temperature differences to recognize anomalies on critical power generation infrastructure.

Trusted Source

Protect the security of critical infrastructure with a solution designed, assembled, and supported in the USA.

Regulatory Guidance

Engage our team of experts to help you through the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver process.

Skydio X10 drone flying over power lines

Skydio X10 inspection drone near electrical utility assets

ComEd minimizes outages, advances resiliency with aerial asset inspection.

Get better data on asset condition with the Skydio Distribution Network Inspection Solution.

X10

The best sensors for a drone this small, piloted by the most advanced AI in the sky.

X10 combines high-resolution visual and radiometric thermal sensors with advanced AI autonomy in a rugged, backpack-portable drone that deploys in under a minute.

X10 combines high-resolution visual and radiometric thermal sensors with advanced AI autonomy in a rugged, backpack-portable drone. Capture critical data for emergency response, asset inspection, site security, situational awareness, and mapping, even in complex or GPS-denied environments.

Dock for X10

Drones at the ready for 911 calls, incident management, site security, asset inspection and emergency response.

Dock for X10 positions drones where the work happens, protecting and charging the aircraft between flights so teams can launch scheduled or on-demand missions without an onsite pilot.

Dock for X10 positions drones where the work happens so teams can remotely launch scheduled or on-demand missions without an onsite pilot. It protects and charges X10 between flights and keeps the aircraft ready for incident response, inspections, security patrols, and continuous site operations.

Asset Command

Your operations run on assets. Now your drone inspections do too.

Asset Command organizes drone inspection work around the infrastructure assets your team manages, turning capture requirements and recurring missions into repeatable programs.

Asset Command organizes drone inspection work around infrastructure assets, capture requirements, and recurring missions. It helps teams standardize how asset data is collected across the network and build a repeatable digital record that inspection programs, audits, and regulators can rely on.

Controller 2

Confidence in your hands.

Controller 2 puts confidence in your hands with a large, bright screen, customizable one-touch commands, reliable connectivity, and an ergonomic design built for long shifts.

Controller 2 gives operators confident control with a large, daylight-readable screen and an ergonomic design built for long shifts. Customizable controls keep essential flight actions within reach, and robust connectivity holds a reliable link to the aircraft at distance and in congested airspace.

Attachments

X10 readily adapts to serve your missions. Mount spotlights, speakers, droppers and more.

Customize X10 and X10D for your mission needs. With a modular body design that includes four attachment bays, it’s easy to mount spotlights, speakers, droppers and more.

Services

Launch, operate, and scale your drone program with experts beside you.

Services help organizations plan, deploy, and expand drone programs with hands-on guidance across strategy, training, implementation, support, and aviation regulations.

Skydio Services help organizations plan, deploy, and expand drone programs with hands-on guidance at every stage. Success Services covers strategy, training, implementation, and ongoing support, while Regulatory Services builds the documentation and FAA waivers that unlock BVLOS and advanced autonomous operations.

Resources

Learn more about drones for utility inspection.

2,090 Miles Away. Real Assets. Real-Time Inspection. (Live from DTECH)

Flight to Insight: How AEP Ohio is using drones & AI to turn inspections into uptime

Transmission tower inspection with drones

Let us show you how to have an aerial view every time you need it.

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