American Robotics Reveals New Features for the Oil and Gas Industry

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M Crosby

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American Robotics has announced the addition of new capabilities to its autonomous Scout System drone to allow visual inspections of oil and gas facilities to be carried out autonomously.

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The newly added high-resolution RGB and thermal camera payloads, set for release in Q3 2022, will enable routine, high-value inspections of upstream and midstream oil and gas assets.

“The addition of these new features to the Scout System expands American Robotics’ competitive differentiation within the autonomous drone-in-a-box (DIB) market,” said American Robotics co-founder and CEO Reese Mozer. “Our oil and gas customers have worked closely with us to identify new features that allow them to transform operations, reduce costs, and increase safety by automating inspections so human operators do not have to be present on-site. This exciting advancement is an example of how American Robotics continues to grow its market-leading presence in the oil and gas sector.”

The Scout System’s new RGB and thermal camera features provide oil and gas customers with the ability to conduct regular inspections of assets like pumpjacks, heater treaters, tanks, flare stacks, pipes, pumps, and electrical infrastructure, while also cutting down on operating costs. The system’s improved imaging abilities will serve to assist in protecting the environment with recurrent, automated inspections, as well as expedite the digitization of physical assets via imaging and artificial intelligence in order to determine issues with critical infrastructure.

There are more than 900,000 oil & gas well pads and upwards of 500,000 miles of pipeline in just the United States, all of which requires regular inspection and monitoring. American Robotics anticipates a global TAM value of $22 billion for the drone-in-a-box market in the oil and gas sector. The company is set to experience revenue growth as a result of its improved features and ongoing business expansion, allowing it to further develop its competitive differentiation within the industry by joining its FAA approval for fully-automated BVLOS operations with oil and gas specific capabilities.

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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 is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.