Gale-Force Drone

02/04/2026

Day 4 in San Diego. At

12/04/2025

👉 Got to walk the floor at the Drone & Robotics Coalition Drone & Robotics Forum this week. A quick look at the tech that caught my eye — robotics, inspection systems, AI workflows, and a whole lot of innovation happening in real time.
Always good to get out and see first hand what's happening in the industry, what teams are actually building, their thoughts about data, and where the industry is heading next.

If you were there, curious what stood out to you the most, and if you missed it, highly recommend catching the next one.

If you’re working on inspection data, AI workflows, or scaling your program, I'd love to connect.

08/15/2025

7 Lessons from AI Image Analysis at Scale | In 2025, AI image analysis is how utilities are tackling massive inspection workloads without sacrificing accuracy.

How One Utility Scaled to 800,000 Pole Inspections a Year — With AI

✅ Inspect 800,000+ poles annually
✅ Cut inspection-to-repair time by up to 40%
✅ Keep costs under $5 per pole (including storage, processing, AI, and visualization)

It’s ALL about faster fault detection — extending asset life, reducing downtime, and turning overwhelming data into clear, actionable insights.

Contact us today 👉🏻 🔗 https://scopito.com/contact-us to discuss your inspection program.

For the original case study 👉🏻 🔗 https://scopito.com/supercharging-utility-inspection/


https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-lessons-from-ai-image-analysis-scale-scopito-aps-4jjnc

nsights from a Utility Inspecting 800,000 Poles a Year Inspecting 800,000 power poles a year can be a near impossible job without automation. For one of our utility clients, traditional analysis would have taken over a year of nonstop human effort.

08/12/2025

As a drone service provider, capturing high-quality inspection imagery is only half the battle. The real challenge? Making sure stakeholders can act on it.

This is exactly why I work with Scopito. It bridges that gap from the field to the boardroom, turning inspection data into decisions.

08/07/2025

What’s the biggest machine in the world? Powerlines span continents — and keeping them operational is a massive task.

Scopito turns raw drone data into actionable insights, helping inspection teams manage grid health efficiently and at scale.

✅ AI + human analysis
✅ Visual fault reporting
✅ Inspection workflows that actually work

Let’s modernize how we inspect the biggest machine on earth.

08/05/2025

🛠️ How’s Your 2025 Plan Holding Up?

When the year started, our strategy probably looked solid — stable timelines, clear goals, predictable workflows. But real-world conditions don’t always cooperate.

This article from Scopito, discusses how infrastructure and inspection teams can reframe mid-year reporting — not just to defend what changed, but to demonstrate agility, leadership, and data-backed decisions.

✅ What’s still working
🔄 Where the pivots happened
📊 How the data is helping guide the next moves

It’s August — how are we really doing? It’s August, and executive teams are revisiting the strategic plans outlined in January. The question at the table is simple: “How are we tracking?” In fast-moving industries like utility inspections, the answer often reveals more than KPIs — it sho...

07/30/2025

This article really has me thinking: what if utilities made a conscious effort and open their doors to engage local DSPs? The small, agile drone operators bring specialized skills, fresh perspectives and potentially lower costs that could make a difference in grid resilience.

For small drone service providers, just getting the opportunity with utilities to present their services feels like climbing Everest—how do you even get in the door? It’s tough, and the reality is, just getting a chance to bid is nearly impossible without the right connections. But it’s not impossible, and if we’re willing to strap on our climbing gear, the climb will be worth it.

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As our power grid faces increasing strain from severe weather and aging infrastructure, the push for grid resilience has become urgent. In 2024 alone, the impact of extreme weather events on utility infrastructure has surpassed previous years, with repair costs climbing and public demand for reliabi

07/29/2025

💡 AI isn’t replacing our veteran lineworkers — it’s redefining their value.
Here’s how organizations can retain their most experienced O&M professionals — and amplify their impact with the right tools.

Why your most experienced professionals are more valuable than ever in the age of AI. The truth is, AI isn’t displacing expertise.

07/28/2025

🔥 Utilities are under pressure. Catastrophic fires. Aging infrastructure. Legal liability.

For drone pilots, this means one thing: opportunity.

This article takes a hard look at what’s driving the shift toward drone-based powerline inspections—and why utilities are rethinking everything from vegetation management to predictive maintenance.

If you're serious about positioning your drone business for long-term value, this is one to bookmark.

The recent Hawaiian fire has served as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in our aging power infrastructure. Electric utilities are now under increased scrutiny, facing potential liabilities for damages caused by infrastructure failures.

07/25/2025

I found this article to be forward-thinking given the rapid advancements of AI in drone technology. As a drone service provider, we need to continually keep an eye on the horizon to remain educated and leverage new technology, because somebody else will and we don't want to miss out.

In the rapidly evolving world of drone technology, the shift towards increased autonomy is a significant leap forward. Autonomous drone solutions are taking on complex tasks with minimal human intervention, from navigation to data collection, demonstrating vast potential across sectors.

07/24/2025

Well worth a read if you follow the industry closely. The drone industry is evolving fast—not just on the inspection side where I work, but across defense, public safety, and industrial applications. Paladin Automation LLCs mid-year review of the DRONES Index caught my attention because it highlights where momentum is building and which U.S. drone manufacturers are gaining traction.

For those of us in the global drone ecosystem, it's helpful to see how capital, compliance, and defense priorities are shaping what technologies and partnerships are likely to emerge or scale next.

2025 update to best U.S. drone companies to invest in.

07/24/2025

In this piece I wrote for Scopito, it does seem, despite the obvious advantages, that many power companies are slow to adopt drone technology. I found some interesting golden nuggets of truth and inspiration.

In conversations with electric cooperatives, we often encounter a surprising hesitance towards adopting drone technology for routine inspections. Despite what seems to be an obvious solution for proactive maintenance, there is a majority of companies that prefer traditional, reactive methods.