The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has grown exponentially in recent years and ECI has positioned itself to help utilities determine where this “tool” fits in the utility “toolbox” for vegetation as well as asset inspections. In fact, in partnership with a major investor-owned utility, ECI and FLōT Systems were the first company to execute a research and development-related beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) unmanned aerial system (UAS) mission in the United States on February 2, 2016.
ECI assists in overall program development consulting (use case and business case development) of UAS utilization, including regulatory enablement consulting.
Even though UAS technology is relatively new to the industry, the use of remote sensing is very common. In fact, UAS represents just one more step in the evolution of remote sensing platforms for utility managers. Recognizing this trend, ECI retained Chuck Anderson who was most recently the General Manager for North Americas largest utility based remote sensing firm (GeoDigital International). Chuck’s expertise with remote sensing including LiDAR, Color Infrared (CIR) imagery, data analytics and delivery allow ECI to provide subject matter expertise unique in this industry.