Enabling Aerial Close-Proximity and Contact Sensing for Inspection of Industrial Infrastructure

There isa large unserved and well-defined need in several heavy industrial markets such as steel, petroleum, energy, and mining for aerial inspection, particularly by small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) conducting close proximity imaging and contact sensing.We propose to increase the utility of aerial inspection beyond the current state of the art where imagery typically is manually collected from structures at a distance of many meters with technology to enable high quality image coverage at distances near 2 centimeters plus contact sensing along with the creation of comprehensive, fused data products. These close-proximity imaging and contact sensing technologies will enable safer, more cost-effective sUAS inspection of large, complex industrial facilities than is possible by existing human-controlled imaging technology. Near Earth Autonomy is working with key customers in these industries with specific interest in high-value applications. We expect this newly created market to surpass $1 billion by 2020.