Anra Technologies has completed a demonstration using multiple drones to inspect the White Plains facility of the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The uncrewed traffic management specialist reported this week that during an event on August 1, it used its Mission Manager software to control a fleet of drones that feed live video showing the condition of power cables and other equipment.
According to Anra, the demonstration has proven how drones operate beyond a visual line of sight to safely and cost-effectively support utility company inspection work. It said the flights, which were conducted under an FAA waiver, could set “the foundation for compliance with anticipated FAA rules.”
The U.S. company has been supporting the NYPA since 2022. It said the utility company had used Mission Manager’s monitoring and tracking capability to improve its inspection processes by enabling them to respond more quickly and with reduced operating costs.
Those attending the August 1 event were able to see drones used for tasks such as linear inspections and property security monitoring, coordinated and displayed in an operations center on the ground. Encrypted video streams and data were downloaded from the drones.
“With the FAA waiver, we can deploy drones for more extensive inspections without the limitations of visual line of sight,” said NYPA’s robotics program manager, Peter Kalaitzidis. “Anra’s Mission Manager will be instrumental in managing these expanded operations safely and efficiently.”
In March, Anra announced a collaboration with the Estonian Aviation Academy to establish a test center for uncrewed aircraft systems. The facility in the Baltic state’s second-largest city, Tartu, will be used to evaluate uncrewed traffic management technology and procedures to implement Europe’s U-space concept to allow drones and automated eVTOL aircraft to operate in the same airspace.
In November 2023, Anra introduced its Vertiport Management System to support eVTOL aircraft operations. The company said the web-based software platform can be integrated with existing air traffic management networks, exchanging real-time data between aircraft and all the various services involved in supporting arrivals and departures.