Inspection of urban underground pipe networks is moving away from manual survey work towards unmanned, data-driven methods.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on 2 July an underground inspection robot entered a municipal drainage pipeline three metres below ground in one Chinese city. Using cameras and sensors, it captured image data on pipeline sedimentation and the sealing condition of pipe joints and transmitted it back to the control centre in real time. Once approved, the data was recorded in Chengdu's drainage network operation and maintenance management system, keeping the "health record" of the network dynamic and up to date.
This case shows that for spaces with complex structures, difficult human access and inspection results that must be retained over the long term, an inspection is no longer simply a matter of "going in for a look". It is being upgraded towards unmanned entry, digital data capture and platform-based management.
Comparable needs exist widely across industrial settings such as ship tanks and compartments, FPSO cargo oil tanks, large storage tanks, boilers and pipe racks. Visibility in these spaces is often limited, the structures are complex and preparation for entry takes time. Conventional manual inspection is not only constrained in efficiency; the inspection data itself is easily scattered, making it hard to build a continuous, reviewable record of asset condition.
The Scout 137 industrial drone system from ScoutDI of Norway is a professional drone system designed precisely for confined space and complex industrial asset inspection. It can enter large enclosed spaces such as ship compartments, storage tanks and FPSO cargo oil tanks, capturing site data through high-definition imagery, video and 3D LiDAR so that operators can understand internal structures, surface condition and potential risk points.
Supported by platforms such as Scout Portal, inspection data can then be used for review, analysis, sharing and archiving, so that a single site inspection produces more than fragmented video clips: it becomes manageable, traceable data.
The value of the low-altitude economy does not lie in flight alone. It lies in entering real working environments and solving problems of safety, efficiency and data management. Tecway Maritime will continue to follow the application of ScoutDI industrial drones in the inspection of vessels, offshore units, storage tanks and industrial facilities, and to provide customers with safer, more efficient and more digital drone inspection solutions.