Aerial Asset Inspection (Closed Beta)

Overview

Aerial Asset Inspection missions allow users to automate the inspection of multiple fixed assets by flying to specified locations, rather than following a geometric area. This primary goal is to efficiently and repeatably capture high-quality, top-down (nadir) images of each individual point of interest. This workflow is vital for customers who require structured, asset-centric records for compliance, change monitoring, or advanced analytics.

Availability: Who has access?

Aerial Asset Inspection is currently a Closed Beta. Please reach out to support@dronedeploy.com for more information.

How to use Aerial Asset Inspection

Key steps

1. Create DroneDeploy Locations on the Explore page first for any assets or points of interest.
   • These can be any shape.
   • DroneDeploy will take a photo in the center.
2. Create a New Asset Inspection Plan.
   • Open the New Flight Plan sidebar in DroneDeploy.
   • Select the Asset Inspection flight type.
     
3. Define Inspection Locations.
   • Add DroneDeploy locations by multi-selecting from the list of DD Locations.
   • Specify capture (flight) altitude.
     
     
4. Review and Prepare Plan.
   • Confirm all waypoints (assets) are accurately positioned.
   • Review the total number of inspection points and expected images.
   • For high-precision captures, use RTK enabled drones.
5. Connect and Select Your Drone.
   • Connect your drone to DroneDeploy (this supports both docked and RC drones that DroneDeploy supports).
6. Fly the Mission.
   • Launch the plan.
   • The drone will fly automatically to each location and capture the required imagery.
7. Access and Use Captured Data.
   • DroneDeploy organizes captured imagery by Location.
   • Search for a location, select it and you will find all media of that location over time.

Recommendations and best practices

• Prepare and validate your DroneDeploy location list before flight planning, ensuring accuracy for repeat inspections.
• Enable RTK to maximize geospatial consistency.

When and why to use this tool

Typical use cases

• Routine inspection of infrastructure (for example, tanks, transmission towers, substations).
• Comparing an asset over time (Change detection).
• Compliance documentation and change monitoring for industrial assets.
• Supporting AI-powered analytics, anomaly detection, or maintenance workflows by ensuring all imagery is linked to locations and assets.

Limitations

• The feature can only capture DroneDeploy locations, but the team is working on assets as well.
• Waypoint plans must be built before flight.
• In most current versions, individual asset waypoints cannot be edited inside the plan; you must create a new plan to change assets.
• Capture altitude has to be the same for all assets within a plan.
• Only a top-down NADIR photo is captured at each location.
• There is no terrain-awareness; all altitudes are absolute from takeoff.

V2.2