Falcon 8+. Photo courtesy of Intel
Honeywell has launched its own unmanned aircraft system (UAS) inspection service, the company said. It has partnered with Intel Corp. to do so.
“This collaboration combines Intel’s advanced commercial Intel Falcon 8+ [UAS] system with Honeywell’s leadership in aerospace safety and connectivity to deliver solutions that deliver reliable, efficient and actionable information to utility and industrial customers,” said Carl Esposito, president of electronic solutions for Honeywell Aerospace. “Through our extensive industrial experience, our customers will also gain access to Honeywell’s customized software and data solutions that will help them log, analyze and eventually predict or prevent outages and structural failures, while protecting the men and women called upon to complete these crucial but high-risk jobs.”
The new offering, called Honeywell InView, serves infrastructure industries, including utility, energy, and oil and gas. The inspection service package includes the components of the drone, pilot app and customizable web portal. Honeywell said the service helps customers organize and create standards for routine and crisis-response inspections. The offering can synthesize large amounts of data and identify important information that is actionable.
“Technology, along with the Internet of Things, is enabling utilities around the world to modernize the management of their energy grids. Honeywell brings together the technology that allows utilities to transform how energy is consumed in homes and buildings with software-based systems that help safely and efficiently manage complex industrial facilities and utility grids,” said Nitin S. Kulkarni, president of smart energy for Honeywell Home and Building Technologies. “Honeywell also has more than 100 years of experience providing dependable products and services to a variety of industries, of which Honeywell InView inspection service is the latest entry.”
Intel announced the Falcon 8+ October 2016, outfitted for industrial inspection, surveying and mapping. The system also includes Intel Cockpit ground control and Intel Powerpack smart battery. The airframe is an octocopter, with eight rotors. It has AscTec Trinity triple-redundant autopilot and has onboard sensors that can provide orthography down to millimeter accuracy ground sample distance.