Percepto, pioneering autonomous inspection by industrial robotics, announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for Delek US Holdings‘ refineries in Tyler, Texas and El Dorado, Arkansas. Percepto drones inspected its facilities and provided visual data management and analysis. The approval makes Delek US’s refineries the first to receive such an approval, and one of the first among US energy companies as well. The operational approval is one of a number received by Percepto customers, including Florida Power & Light, Verizon Skyward and at other industrial sites in Australia, Italy, Spain, Norway, Portugal and Israel.
The BVLOS approval enables Delek US to operate its drones without a pilot to maintain line of sight with the drone. An operator located in the control room can easily manage and monitor pre-scheduled fully autonomous drone missions.
“This approval to use autonomous drone technology is a huge step forward towards cleaner and safer refineries within the oil and gas industry,” said Percepto CEO Dor Abuhasira. “Congratulations to Delek US for being pioneers in digital transformation, and implementing new procedures within an industry that has been seeking new solutions to old problems.”
“Percepto’s end-to-end system supports our environmental, social and governance goals to deliver safe and reliable autonomous drones that can be operated remotely while in compliance with US FAA regulations,” said Delek SVP, Business Transformation, Grigor Bambekov. “By working in partnership with Percepto, Delek US is gaining more effective, efficient, reliable, and profitable utilization of its assets through the next generation of Industry 4.0 drone ecosystems.”
Percepto drones are managed by Percepto’s Autonomous Inspection & Monitoring (AIM) platform. The recently upgraded AIM 2022 includes the newest configuration of the Percepto Sparrow, the Percepto Air Max. Amongst other payload and capability upgrades, the Air Max features an OGI camera, capable of detecting gas emissions.
