ULC Aerial Services Team Conducts UAV Demonstration Flights for Pennsylvania Gas Utility

ULC Robotics

Gas transmission pipelines can run through almost any type of terrain. While some terrain is fairly easy to navigate, the process for inspecting pipelines in difficult to access areas is time-consuming, costly and can pose a safety threat to utility workers.

ULC’s Aerial Services team recently visited a Pennsylvania gas utility to conduct a series of unmanned aerial inspection flights to visually inspect gas pipelines located in hard-to-access areas and demonstrate the capabilities of the company’s H1000 Hexacopter UAV.

The customer identified four gas pipeline right-of-ways (ROWs) that needed to be inspected with two primary concerns. First, the pipelines which are located on the side of a mountain range and one at a river crossing needed to be visually assessed for vegetation management and encroachment. Secondly, the utility was concerned with the safety aspect of inspections for utility personnel.

Aerial Services Company News

August 8, 2017

Utility-Specific Fixed-Wing VTOL Drone Takes Flight

UAV, ULC Aerial Services, VTOL, VTOL UAV Inspection

ULC Robotics

ULC Robotics’ VTOL UAV for Commercial Applications in the Utility Industry Successfully Completes Flight Testing

Hauppauge, NY August 9, 2017 – ULC Robotics, Inc. is advancing the state-of-the-art in commercial utility industry aerial inspection after successfully flight testing a newly developed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle last week. As a leading robotics, energy services and research and development company focused on the energy and utility industries, ULC Robotics’ commercial-grade VTOL fixed-wing UAV was specifically developed to meet the inspection needs of electric and gas utilities.

The UAV was designed and built from the ground up by ULC’s Aerial Services and engineering teams. As a result, it is a powerful and versatile platform with a 10-foot wingspan and a sensor payload capacity of 10 pounds for conducting fully-autonomous aerial inspections and assessments of a variety of utility structures and properties, including electrical transmission lines, gas transmission pipelines, and right of ways.