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AI generated image with Dall-e.
The evolution of aerial monitoring in the Oil & Gas and Energy sectors has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past five decades. This journey, from rudimentary observation methods to the integration of sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, highlights a pivotal shift in how these industries approach safety, efficiency, and environmental stewardship.
The Beginnings: 1970s-1980s
In the 1970s and 1980s, aerial monitoring was in its infancy. The primary method was manned aircraft surveys, which provided a bird’s-eye view of pipelines and energy infrastructure. Although revolutionary, this method was costly, time-consuming, and often limited by weather conditions. In some countries, this is still the norm and reporting happens only through the experience of the pilot and the knowledge of the terrain.
The Digital Leap: 1990s-2000s
The 1990s and 2000s witnessed a digital leap with the introduction of satellite imagery and early unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This era marked the beginning of remote sensing technologies, which allowed for wider coverage and better data collection. However, the analysis was still largely manual, relying on experts to interpret images, a process that was both time-intensive and prone to human error.
Digital scale: 2000s to 2020s
With technology becoming widely available, and slowly making its way towards industrial operations, it served as a tool to capture better images from the sky to perform inspections in a more accruable way than ever before. Nevertheless, as cameras became more powerful this came with the problem of storage. Now it was a challenge to analyze an enormous amount of video and photographic material sometimes provided by inspection companies on a hard drive, making its review and organization a hazard for many.
Drones and the Dawn of AI: 2020s – Present
The past few years have been an explosion of available new hardware to perform aerial inspections more efficiently and all sorts of drones and UAVs are available to address different landscapes, weather, and special conditions. However, the main challenge remains in the analysis. Even with drones cutting off the time of performing the inspection, there is still time needed to analyze manually thousands of images produced by these.
The Evolution of Aerial Monitoring in Oil and Gas reaches its peak with the incorporation of AI in the last decade revolutionizing inspections. Machine learning algorithms now analyze vast amounts of data from drones and satellites, identifying potential issues with precision and speed that were previously unattainable. The value comes in having the information in real-time, organized, and accessible from anywhere. At Kauel we have been working for years to strengthen our AI for images taken from drones, planes, or helicopters to achieve high precision rates and enable a platform to oversee the assets’ performance over time.
Current State and Future Prospects
Today, our AI aerial monitoring systems can detect leaks, third-party threats, and temperature in real-time, and assess the health of energy infrastructure with unprecedented accuracy. This has been possible with advancements in communications which lead to real-time processing and possible integration with other IoT devices.
This evolution has not only enhanced operational efficiency but also significantly improved environmental and safety standards.
For many who have seen the journey from manual aerial surveys to AI-driven monitoring systems reflect the dynamic nature of the Oil & Gas and Energy sectors, this evolution represents a major shift, that has been driven by the relentless pursuit of improved safety, efficiency, and environmental protection therefore, as we look to the future, the potential of AI in these industries is boundless, promising even greater advancements in the years to come.
This blog post is just a glimpse into the profound impact AI in image analysis has and will have on the energy industry in the years to come. As technology advances, we at Kauel will continue to develop our solutions to bring innovative solutions and applications to leverage the industry worldwide.
Are you an Integrity or Operational Manager of an Oil&Gas company needing a tool to automize inspection analysis with AI, reporting, and traceability of events on their linear assets? Learn more about our solutions here.