Drones
Autonomous drone inspection at US refinery Delek
Delek US Receives First BVLOS Approval for Autonomous Drone Inspection at US Refinery with Percepto AIM
by DRONELIFE author Ian M. Crosby
Percepto, head of autonomous inspection, announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved operations outside of line of sight (BVLOS) for Delek US Holdings’ refineries in Tyler, Texas and El Dorado, Arkansas. The facilities were inspected by Percepto drones, which enabled visual data management and analysis. This BVLOS approval positions Delek US refineries as the first to receive such approval and one of the first US energy companies. This is just the latest of many operating permits required for Percepto customers such as Florida Power & Light, Verizon Skyward and other industrial sites in Australia, Italy, Spain, Norway, Portugal and Israel.
BVLOS approval, which allows Delek US to operate its drones without a pilot to maintain line of sight with the drone, allows an operator located in the control room to easily manage and monitor pre-planned, fully autonomous drone missions .
“This approval to use autonomous drone technology is a major step forward towards cleaner and safer refineries in the oil and gas industry,” said Dor Abuhasira, CEO of Percepto. “Congratulations to Delek US for pioneering digital transformation and implementing new practices in an industry that has been looking for new solutions to old problems.”
“Percepto’s end-to-end system supports our environmental, social and governance goals to provide safe and reliable autonomous drones that can be remotely piloted while remaining compliant with US FAA regulations,” said Grigor Bambekov , SVP of Delek, Business Transformation. “By partnering with Percepto, Delek US will achieve more effective, efficient, reliable and profitable use of its assets through the next generation of Industry 4.0 drone ecosystems.”
Percepto’s Autonomous Inspection & Monitoring (AIM) platform, which manages Percepto drones, recently received an upgrade with AIM 2022, which includes the latest configuration of the Percepto Sparrow and Percepto Air Max. In addition to other payload and performance improvements, the Air Max comes equipped with an OGI camera capable of detecting gas emissions.
AIM 2022 also offers AI-powered packaged solutions for industry-specific use cases, including oil, gas, and other industries. As the first industry solution to collect visual data from all third-party surveillance devices on site, Percepto’s platform provides a unified view of the entire facility and provides insights for fast and efficient action. Through their change detection framework based on data collected from drones, the Tyler and El Dorado refineries use AIM and Air Max drones to continue remote operations 24/7 with the ability to manage a select set of daily operations , automate maintenance and safety and special project tasks, monitor, monitor and inspect assets, equipment, machinery, materials and supplies from the air, enable emergency and crisis management services, ensure compliance with environmental and safety regulations and ensure worker safety through preventative risk notifications and mitigation services.
Read more about Percepto BVLOS approvals, drone-in-a-box solution and AI-powered analytics.
Ian attended Dominican University of California where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling, and a keen interest in technology, he now contributes to DroneLife as a staff writer.
Miriam McNabb is Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a marketplace for professional drone services, and is a fascinated observer of the burgeoning drone industry and drone regulatory environment. Miriam has authored over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam graduated from the University of Chicago and has over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for emerging technologies.
For advice or writing in the drone industry email Miriam.
Twitter: @spaldingbarker
Subscribe to DroneLife here.