In the autumn of 2021, Hepta Airborne helped Latvia's leading distribution system operator, Sadales tīkls to conduct tests with drones. Their inspection teams were equipped with drones, taught how to fly them effectively and how to take photos of power lines with them.

As a company pioneering more benign services of the unmanned aerial inspection of power lines, Hepta ensures that airborne security and safety are taken very seriously. Regulatory approval is necessary to obtain “beyond visual line of sight” (BVLOS) flight permits essential for the productive inspection of long power lines.

Hepta Airborne’s innovations always focus on payloads to ensure that the drones cover the required inspection areas and succeed in efficient data gathering. The company currently uses various payloads – including optical RGB photos, infrared, LiDAR, and CORONA – to gather the data required by grid operators.

To find out how AI impacts the utility inspection process in 2021, we interviewed Toomas Välja, the VP of Sales, at Hepta Airborne. A company that digitizes and automates the inspection of power lines and other infrastructure, through the use of drones and machine learning.