Autonomous drones company releases AI remote inspection solution at DISTRIBUTECH
Percepto’s “Drone in a Box” used by Florida Power & Light (Credit: Percepto)
Percepto, a provider of enterprise autonomous inspections, introduced an end-to-end remote inspection solution powered by AI for electric utilities at DISTRIBUTECH.
By leveraging autonomous drones and advanced analytics, Percepto argues it enables continuous, high-frequency inspections, shifting grid maintenance from reactive to proactive.
Percepto’s AI-powered solution is meant to help utilities to increase inspection coverage without additional operational strain.
By shifting from traditional ground patrols to fully autonomous monitoring, utilities can detect and resolve infrastructure issues in real time, reduce outage durations, and improve service reliability. Integration with GIS, SAP, and other asset management systems can streamline data-driven decision-making and long-term infrastructure planning.
“Scaling grid inspections has been a challenge for utilities—until now. Percepto’s AI-powered solution enables utilities to inspect more, detect issues faster, and enhance reliability without the complexity of building and managing a drone program,” said Dor Abuhasira, CEO of Percepto.
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Scaling inspections across a utility’s entire grid requires more than just drones. Percepto is the only provider that combines all critical elements into a single, seamless solution:
Features of Percepto’s solution include FAA-approved remote operations; ruggedized, all-weather drones; geospatial data management; AI-powered thermal and RGB analytics; and turnkey deployment with white-glove services.
“Utilities need a scalable, intelligent solution that improves resilience and efficiency. Autonomous monitoring isn’t the future—it’s the standard for smart grid management,” said Abuhasira.
Percepto offers autonomous data collection with its “drone-in-a-box” solution, powered by Percepto AIM software. AIM transforms complex data into actionable insights through automated data management and AI-driven analysis.
In 2022, Percepto announced it would deploy autonomous drones to monitor Florida Power & Light’s substations and power distribution grids across the state. Serving more than 11 million people in Florida, FPL uses Percepto’s AIM solution powered by drones to perform routine infrastructure inspection and monitoring. FPL’s long-term plan is to introduce hundreds of Percepto drones to monitor the utility’s distribution substations over the next several years.
Percepto has served FPL since 2018, working to develop optimized drone monitoring solutions and build consensus and compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. The FAA had issued a nationwide waiver for FPL to fly Percepto drones for surveillance and inspection purposes at sites owned and serviced by FPL.
Originally published by Sean Wolfe on Factor This.
