Drone Volt Partners with Skipper NDT for Drone-Based Pipeline Monitoring
Drone Volt, a French manufacturer of professional drones, announces a collaboration agreement with Skipper NDT, a specialist in non-intrusive technologies and artificial intelligence. This partnership aims to develop innovative solutions for smart monitoring of pipelines and critical energy infrastructures.
Development of Dedicated Monitoring Solutions
The agreement focuses on the development of solutions dedicated to pipeline monitoring, mapping of underground infrastructures, detection of underground structures, analysis of hard-to-access areas, and optimization of predictive maintenance programs. Skipper NDT, based in Houston (USA) and Paris (France), supports major operators of critical energy infrastructures with technologies that combine artificial intelligence, geospatial analysis, and advanced electromagnetic detection. This collaboration addresses the major challenges of securing underground infrastructures against the changing climate conditions, characterized by an increase in heavy rainfall in some regions and growing phenomena of drought and soil retraction in others, which heighten the risks of terrain movements around pipelines and critical energy infrastructures.
Integration into Hercules 20 and Kobra Platforms
The developed technologies will be integrated into Drone Volt's Hercules 20 and Kobra platforms. This integration opens new growth prospects for the group in the international markets of smart inspection of pipelines and critical infrastructures. To accelerate the operational development of these solutions, both companies plan to set up a test bench at Drone Volt's flight site at UTAC (60), aimed at validating the inspection and monitoring technologies under conditions close to real operational environments.
Strengthening Drone Volt's International Presence
The agreement will enable Drone Volt to continue the development of its high-value-added services by supporting Skipper NDT in the operational deployment of its innovative solutions to major international operators in the oil and energy sector. Skipper NDT's international locations represent a major asset for Drone Volt's international development. Combined with the group's locations in France and Canada, as well as its upcoming Nasdaq listing in the United States, these locations enhance the international scope of this collaboration and support its development in North American and international markets.
