Autonomous drones fly into the oil and gas industry

Developed to inspect pipelines for damage, as well as for mapping and security surveillance, SkyX’s SkyOne drones offer Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities, as well as autonomous flight and recharging. SkyOne can travel at 150km per hour for 70 minutes and can detect leaks, vandalism, vegetation encroachment and more.

The oil and gas sector currently relies heavily on road vehicles and manned aircraft (i.e helicopters) to detect any damage or threat. Both methods are more expensive, and less efficient than the SkyX solution. SkyOne allows for 24/7, unlimited data collection, provided in real time and offers a far wider scope of information for the user.

Offered on a service leasing model, SkyOne allows oil and gas companies to access custom data and information without being burdened by any possible maintenance. The company is able to control either an individual UAV or an entire fleet and can monitor events through real time video.

Perhaps most ground breaking is the fact that the SkyOne is able to recharge itself in the field. Through proprietary technology, the drone doesn’t need to return to home base to recharge. Instead, it flies to the nearest available xStation, where it recharges in a weather shielded dome before continuing its mission.

Pipeline leaks are a massive global concern. Statistics suggest that globally, the market spends $37bn a year just in monitoring. With one patent filed in North America and a couple more on the way, and more than 10,000,000km of oil and gas pipelines worldwide, the market and growth potential is huge.

Didi Horn, SkyX Founder and CEO, said: “We have built not only a fantastic, game changing product for the oil and gas industry, but have also built a fantastic team of experts ready to get it out there. The market is, obviously, of huge global importance. We know that our technology can significantly cut costs and improve efficiency - helping the sector as a whole, along with each and every customer. Our unique solution, which combines both VTOL flight and autonomous remote charging puts us well ahead of the competition. As a result, we are en route for significant expansion, offering an unprecedented opportunity for a strategic investment partner to help us conquer and secure significant market share in an ever growing industry.”