Industrial Drones · Scout 137 Gen3 System
Ship compartments, storage tanks, boilers, pipe galleries and FPSO cargo tanks are all confined or complex industrial spaces where conventional manual inspection is difficult to access, carries high risk, takes a long time to prepare and often leaves incomplete records.
These spaces tend to be structurally complex and poorly lit, and some areas involve work at height, narrow access routes or dense obstructions. For asset owners, obtaining clear, complete and reviewable inspection data while sending fewer people into high-risk spaces has become a key direction for upgrading industrial inspection.
Scout 137 Gen3 is an industrial drone inspection system designed precisely for these scenarios.
01 More than just a drone
Scout 137 Gen3 is a tethered industrial drone system developed by Norway's ScoutDI, built mainly for inspecting confined spaces and indoor industrial facilities. Its real value is not simply flying in to take a look: it combines the drone, sensors, a data platform and remote collaboration into a complete digital inspection workflow.
In practice, Scout 137 Gen3 lets operators carry out remote visual inspections from a safe location, reducing how often personnel need to enter complex spaces. During each inspection the system also captures images, video, spatial data and inspection markers, providing the basis for later review, analysis and reporting.
In other words, Scout 137 Gen3 is not a standalone flying device but a digital inspection system built for confined spaces.
Scout 137 Gen3: a tethered industrial drone
02 Why it suits confined spaces
One of the main challenges of confined-space inspection is that GPS is often unavailable. A standard drone can rely on GPS outdoors, but inside tanks, compartments, boilers and pipe galleries, positioning, navigation and collision avoidance depend on other technologies.
Scout 137 Gen3 uses real-time LiDAR/SLAM navigation to perceive its surroundings and assist flight in GPS-denied environments. Combined with survey-grade 3D LiDAR, a 4K optical zoom camera and high-intensity lighting, it can perform visual inspection and data capture in dark, complex and restricted spaces.
The system is also tethered, with power and data transmitted through the cable. The direct benefit is that flight time is no longer limited by ordinary battery endurance, making it well suited to long, systematic industrial inspection tasks.
Flying and capturing data inside a GPS-denied confined structure
03 From on-site inspection to data management
With manual inspection, site photos, video, defect locations and inspection notes are often scattered across different people and devices, making them costly to compile, review and share afterwards.
Another key strength of Scout 137 Gen3 is that it works with Scout Portal to manage inspection data centrally. Through the platform, data can be used for live streaming, later playback, 3D visualisation, marking points of interest (POIs), sharing and report preparation.
This means an inspection is no longer just a video recorded on site; it becomes a manageable, traceable and reviewable data asset. For shipowners, ship managers, offshore companies and industrial operators, that data supports not only a single inspection but also later maintenance decisions, condition comparisons and internal management.
Scout Portal: live footage, media library and 3D point cloud view
04 What practical problems does it solve?
For confined spaces and complex industrial assets, Scout 137 Gen3 delivers value in three main ways.
Fewer entries into high-risk spaces
The drone can enter tanks, compartments or equipment first, helping the site team understand internal conditions and hazards before anyone goes in.
Greater inspection efficiency and data completeness
High-definition imagery, video, 3D LiDAR and flight-path records help operators capture internal structures, surface conditions and spatial information more systematically.
Results that are easier to review and share
With Scout Portal, inspection data can be replayed, analysed, shared and archived, so site teams, office staff, clients and specialists can all work from the same dataset.
05 The low-altitude economy enters real operations
The value of the low-altitude economy lies not just in getting airborne, but in entering real operating environments to solve safety, efficiency and data management challenges.
For maritime, offshore and industrial companies, confined-space inspection is one of the most important applications for industrial drones. With tethered flight, the ability to operate without GPS, high-definition imaging, 3D LiDAR and data platform support, Scout 137 Gen3 offers a safer, more efficient and digital complement to traditional manual inspection.
Tecway Maritime will continue to follow the application of ScoutDI industrial drones in inspecting ships, offshore assets, storage tanks and industrial facilities, providing clients with safer, more efficient and digital drone inspection solutions.
Site personnel completing an inspection with the drone
Not just a quick look inside, but a complete set of reviewable data.
ABOUT TECWAY
About Tecway
Tecway International Limited was founded in Hong Kong in 1993 and is a leading technical consultant and high-quality distributor in the global maritime industry. Drawing on more than thirty years of experience, it has developed five core business areas: marine equipment, petrochemical storage and transportation, diesel and internal combustion engines, maritime technical services, and maritime consultancy services, serving major markets including China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Tecway Maritime is a specialist team focused on green shipping and maritime consultancy. Addressing shipping companies' low-carbon transition and compliance needs, it provides EU ETS, UK ETS and FuelEU compliance consultancy, EUA/UKA allowance procurement support, FuelEU pooling services, support for green fuel projects in shipping, export solutions for Chinese-made marine equipment, ScoutDI industrial drone solutions from Norway, and FGSS/CHS technical services for dual-fuel vessels.
We are also committed to the diesel and internal combustion engine manufacturing industry, supplying products such as the Cylinder Liner Diameter Measurement (CLDM) system with full technical support. From sales consultation, installation and commissioning to training and after-sales service, our responsive service network is trusted for its expertise and reliability.
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Business email: jacky.xiong@tecwayintl.com