Our Comprehensive Aerial Inspection Capabilities
Critical energy infrastructure demands the most complete, accurate, and detailed inspection data and analysis. With more than 320,000 energy inspections completed, Constellation Clearsight understands these demands. Our team helps utilities and electric cooperatives identify an average of 50% more issues than ground-based inspections alone using aerial inspection drones. With this technology, our expert team can access virtually every area of your system, even where people can’t go, and collect visual imagery and data quickly and safely.
Turnkey Services
We provide a total inspection solution advantage that streamlines maintenance work planning and budgeting.
UAV/Drone Technology
Eliminate inefficiencies, inaccuracies, and most importantly, the safety risks associated with traditional inspection methods.
Expert Analysis
Priority ranking to each discovered issue, providing valuable, actionable insights to improve system reliability.
Secure Customer Portal
Provide your personnel, contractors, and vendors with instantaneous inspection reports.
TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION
Visual Vegetation Management
Our comprehensive visual inspection solution includes the use of drones for safe, high-resolution imagery, customizable inspections, prioritized defects, and detailed historical data available through our client portal.
- Reduce safety hazards
- Improve decision making
- Unmatched aerial insights
TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION
LiDAR Clearance Distance Surveys
Our powerful LiDAR survey solution includes accurate engineering-grade measurements, customizable analytics, historical record-keeping, and reduced safety hazards.
- Personalized solutions tailored to your needs
- Compliance with NERC standard FAC-003-4
- Collect in days what typically takes months
TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION
Aerial Drones
We deploy these drones equipped with sensors that offer vantage points of transmission and distribution electrical lines and utility poles. Using these drones to inspect miles of assets saves time, is more economical, and reduces time needed in bucket trucks.
- 15km Max transmission
- 55-minute flight time
- 6 directional sensing and positioning
LiDAR Sensors
Our 3D Imaging System has sensitivity needed for infrastructure mapping. In addition, its superior ground capturing capabilities for lightly vegetated areas make this the most economical platform for utility grade-mapping.
- 3D color mapping
- 120° field of view
- Vegetation penetration
TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION
Drone Thermal Sensors
Our trained pilots fly drones equipped with thermal cameras at ideal vantage points, adding a new layer of valuable data to be captured: temperature.
- Radiometric Thermal Camera
- -20°C to 50°C Operating Temperatures
- IP44 Rating
TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION
Secure Customer Portal Dashboard
The Clearsight customer portal provides easy and secure online access to actionable data from each inspection.
- Condition priorities ranked
- Recall past inspections quickly
- Digital datasets for each pole
Optimize Your Electric Grid Maintenance for Maximum Efficiency
Traditional Inspections
- Ground crews and bandwidth are needed to assess problems
- PDF reports that are difficult to distribute
- Limited visibility from ground and bucket trucks
- Close proximity to hazards
Our Inspections
- AI and computer vision technology to support accuracy and precision
- Customer portal allows more ways to leverage data
- Drones equipped with sensors provide better vantage points of assets
- Reduces time near hazardous situations
Our Methodology
The Constellation Clearsight overhead inspection methodology combines drone technology, expert analysis, and centralized data to support accurate and proactive maintenance decisions. In addition to comprehensive overhead inspections, we offer a broad range of services including vegetation management, wood pole health inspections, and LiDAR clearance distance surveys, which can be bundled with standard overhead inspections to achieve more value.
Aerial Overhead Line Inspections FAQs
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What is an aerial power line inspection?
An aerial inspection is the assessment of utility power lines utilizing Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) or other flying methods of data collection such as helicopters. These inspections provide electric cooperatives, utilities, municipalities, and/or asset owners visual information about their electric infrastructure. This information helps them to make strategic decisions around damaged, aged equipment and vegetation encroachments, and to inspect challenging or remote areas. Aerial inspections provide high-resolution imaging, allow for inspections in challenging or remote locations, and can help improve inspection efficiency and reduce safety risks. -
How are transmission lines inspected?
Traditionally, power line inspections are performed manually using ground crews with bucket trucks, scaffolding, cranes, or rope access, or are performed with helicopters. Modern approaches to power line inspections use technologies such as drones to reduce safety issues and increase efficiency. -
What are the methods of power line inspection?
There are two primary methods of power line inspections: traditional ground-based inspections and modern aerial inspections. Traditional power line inspections are very manual in nature and require ground crews to heavily rely on their trained, naked eye. Modern power line inspections use drones or helicopters equipped with high-resolution cameras, and a variety of sensors such as thermographic and LiDAR. -
How are drones used in power line inspection?
An aerial drone electric infrastructure inspection involves using UAVs (commonly known as drones), equipped with advanced sensors and high-resolution cameras to inspect the condition of electrical assets. Drone inspections can provide a complete, top-down or birds-eye view and can help identify conditions that lead to potential issues, such as damaged components, improper installations, vegetation encroachments, and equipment wear, enabling timely maintenance and repair to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the electric grid. -
What drones are used for power line inspection?
Several professional-grade drones, equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors, are used for power line inspections. A drone with thermography sensors can be used for measuring the heat emitted from power lines to analyze the abnormal voltage and contact resistance. A drone equipped with LiDAR sensors can accurately create 3D models which can be used to identify encroaching vegetation and simulate other conditions such as high winds.
Reach Out to Our Inspection Teams
Improve the safety and efficiency of your overhead line inspections with Clearsight’s UAV/drone technology, high-resolution drone imagery and expert support. Contact our expert team today to tailor an inspection solution that gets you the insights you need to effectively monitor your electrical assets, prioritize any remediations, and improve system reliability.