INDOOR · GPS-DENIED AUTONOMOUS INSPECTION

Confined-space Drone Inspection Solution

Autonomous Positioning, Planning and Inspection without Satellite Signals

For metro tunnels, river culverts, industrial boilers, mines and enclosed warehouses with no GNSS, low light or constrained space, M3 / M4 drones equipped with INES and purpose-built I5 / I7 indoor drones work with mission software to connect mapping, planning, flight, capture, analysis and delivery.

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LASER SLAMMISSION PLANNINGAUTONOMOUS FLIGHTAI INSPECTION
CUSTOMER VALUE

Customer Value Summary

Turn hard-to-reach spaces into repeatable inspection missions, reducing the burden of personnel entry and repeated planning.

Reduce close-access entry

Use remote capture where flight and communication conditions allow, reducing the need for personnel to enter confined, elevated or hard-to-reach areas for inspection.

Reduce repeat mission preparation

Reuse site maps, routes and capture actions to reduce repeated mapping and planning for periodic inspections of tunnels, industrial buildings and similar spaces.

Make findings easier to hand over

Link missions, field imagery and anomaly records for review and archiving, helping field and management teams work from the same inspection results.

01 · WHY INDOOR AUTONOMY

Turn Hard-to-access Spaces into Plannable Inspection Sites

The challenge is not merely flight, but maintaining positioning without GNSS, capturing consistently along planned routes and turning field data into reviewable results.

Complete DeliveryM3 / M4 drones with INES onboard navigation, or purpose-built I5 / I7 indoor drones, plus AGS ground station and ARP route planning; AI analytics and result platform configured by project
02 · OPERATIONAL BARRIERS

Four Key Constraints in Confined-space Operations

01

No Satellite Signal

GNSS is unavailable inside tunnels, culverts, boilers and mines, requiring continuous reliable position and attitude estimates.

02

Long, Narrow and Complex Structures

Pipes, brackets, bends and narrow passages coexist, leaving little flight space and making route and safety-boundary control harder.

03

Low Light & Environmental Interference

Darkness, dust, reflections and repetitive textures hinder human observation and make stable capture and recognition more difficult.

04

Personnel-entry Risk

Elevated, waterside, hazardous-gas or unknown spaces are unsuitable for prolonged personnel entry and require lengthy preparation for traditional work.

03 · MULTI-SCENE COVERAGE

One Autonomous Capability Set for Multiple Complex Spaces

Configure the flight platform, sensing payload and software workflow around the space, environment and mission instead of applying one fixed setup everywhere.

01 / METRO

Metro & Railway Tunnels

Perform corridor patrol, equipment-state capture, point-of-interest photography and emergency investigation along preset routes.

Personnel intrusion / Forgotten tools / Water leakage / Spalling
02 / CULVERT

Culverts & Underground Utility Tunnels

Capture imagery deep within narrow corridors to inspect standing water, blockages and visible structural anomalies.

Standing water / Blockage / Spalling / Exposed reinforcement
03 / INDUSTRY

Boilers & Industrial Plants

Use protective structures, supplemental lighting and close-range flight to reduce scaffolding and high-risk personnel entry.

Coking / Deposits / Corrosion / Refractory loss
04 / MINE

Mines & Unknown Spaces

Autonomously explore branching spaces with limited communications, retrace the route and optionally collect environmental data.

Spatial exploration / Collapse investigation / Personnel search
05 / WAREHOUSE

Enclosed Warehouses

Plan routes between racks from a prebuilt map, with optional vision, QR-code or RFID mission payloads.

Location capture / Inventory / Anomaly review
04 · SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Complete Chain from Onboard Perception to Result Platform

M3 and M4 can carry the INES onboard navigation module for confined-space inspection, while the purpose-built I5 and I7 indoor drones address tight spaces and long-endurance, large-space missions respectively. The platform is selected for the site boundary and connected with planning, monitoring, capture and result management.

AIRCRAFT

M3 / M4 + INES and I5 / I7 Indoor Drones

Select the aircraft by spatial scale and mission requirements: M3 / M4 carry INES for positioning, navigation and mission execution, while I5 / I7 address confined spaces of different scales.

INES

INES Onboard Navigation Module

Fuse LiDAR, IMU and environmental data for real-time position and attitude estimation and autonomous control.

AGS

Drone Ground Station

Handles device connection, map creation, mission management, flight monitoring, video viewing and safety takeover.

ARP

Route Planning Software

Design routes, points of interest, speed and capture actions on a 3D point-cloud map to create reusable missions.

PLATFORM

Analytics & Result Platform

Connect images, trajectories and AI results by project, supporting anomaly review, result retention and reporting.

05 · AIRCRAFT PLATFORMS

Aircraft Platforms: M3, M4, I5 and I7 for Different Spaces and Missions

M3 and M4 carry the INES onboard navigation module for confined-space inspection. The cage-protected I5 suits narrow spaces and close-range inspection, while I7 supports longer-endurance missions in metro tunnels and large open indoor spaces.

M3 confined-space inspection drone equipped with INES onboard navigation
M3 + INESINES-equipped for Confined-space Inspection
M4 confined-space inspection drone equipped with INES onboard navigation
M4 + INESINES-equipped for Confined-space Inspection
I5 Caged Drone for Confined-space Inspection
I5 Caged DroneTight-space and Close-range Inspection
I7 Long-endurance Drone for Confined-space Inspection
I7 Long-endurance DroneMetro Tunnels and Large Open Spaces

Select the aircraft according to passage clearance, obstacles, payload and endurance needs. Confirm the flight envelope and safety clearance against actual site conditions.

Drone flying autonomously inside a metro tunnel
06 · INES ONBOARD NAVIGATION

INES Onboard Navigation: Maintain Position and Attitude Deep inside Tunnels

M3 and M4 gain confined-space positioning and navigation capabilities by carrying INES. LiDAR scans create a point cloud, while INES combines inertial and environmental information to continuously estimate position and attitude without satellite signals and control flight using the map, mission route and safety constraints.

  • Positioning and mapping without satellite signals
  • Corridor cruise and point-of-interest capture
  • Automatic return after mission completion or trigger conditions
  • Manual monitoring and safety takeover when needed

ARP plans routes and capture actions in the 3D point cloud. INES handles onboard positioning and mission execution. AGS manages field missions, monitors status and live imagery, and retains a manual takeover interface.

Explore the INES Onboard Navigation Module ↗
Confined-space AGS main-camera live view, route and flight status
07 · AGS GROUND STATION

Bring Missions, Status and Live Views into One Workspace

Confined-space AGS supports field execution by receiving planned missions and presenting aircraft position, attitude, device status and live video in one view, helping operators track progress while retaining essential manual intervention.

  • Mission Import and Project Management
  • Position, Attitude and Device-status Monitoring
  • Live Video and Capture-process Viewing
  • Manual Takeover and Safety Intervention
Explore Confined-space Drone Ground Station Software ↗
08 · ARP ROUTE PLANNING

Plan Reviewable, Reusable Inspection Missions in 3D Point Clouds

Confined-space ARP uses the site point cloud as the mission workspace to review spatial relationships before flight, organize waypoints, viewpoints and capture actions, and check routes against the environment to produce adjustable, reviewable mission files.

  • Point-cloud Viewing and Local Sectioning
  • Waypoint, Viewpoint and Capture-action Configuration
  • Preflight Route and Spatial Review
  • Mission-file Output for Field Execution
Explore Confined-space Route Planning Software ↗
Confined-space ARP Point-cloud Route-planning Interface
09 · CORE TECHNOLOGIES

Positioning, Planning, Control and Recognition Form a Closed Loop

01

LiDAR SLAM Positioning

Scan confined spaces in real time and match the map to continuously estimate drone position and attitude without satellite signals.

02

Autonomous Navigation & Route Control

Turn maps, routes, points of interest and safety constraints into executable flight missions with waypoint hover and automatic return.

03

Layered Safety Protection

Reduce flight risk through environmental perception, obstacle-avoidance strategies, low-battery or mission-threshold return and physical protection.

04

Multimodal Inspection Capture

Configure high-resolution visible-light cameras, supplemental lighting, thermal imaging or other payloads for video, photo and environmental data.

05

AI-assisted Anomaly Detection

Configure project-specific models for cracks, water leakage, spalling, corrosion and other targets, outputting suspected anomalies for manual review.

10 · STANDARD WORKFLOW

Turn One Field Flight into a Reusable Mission

From initial mapping to routine reflights, mission maps, routes, points of interest and capture actions can be reused, reducing replanning cost.

01

Site Survey & Mapping

Confirm corridor structure, takeoff/landing points, lighting, communications and safety boundaries, then build a 3D map.

02

Plan the Inspection Mission

Configure routes, points of interest, flight parameters and capture actions in ARP to create a standardized mission template.

03

Autonomous Flight & Capture

The drone executes the mission while AGS displays position, status and live views for corridor or waypoint capture.

04

Anomaly Detection & Review

Associate images and video with position, detect suspected anomalies and have domain personnel review them.

05

Result Retention & Reuse

Save missions, trajectories and results for future reflights, historical comparison and reporting.

11 · DIGITAL DELIVERY

Connect Flight, Recognition and Reporting

The ground station and result platform connect mission status, live video, anomaly detection and archiving into one inspection view for field teams and management.

Visible Flight Process

View routes, position, device status and live video together.

Anomaly-location Association

Relate suspected anomalies to mission time, trajectory position and field imagery.

Inspection-result Retention

Archive images, video, anomaly records and review status by mission.

Standard Report Output

Organize inspection scope, findings and image evidence using project templates.

Assisted anomaly detection during tunnel inspection
Association between anomalies and field imagery
Inspection results and report generation interface
Inspection archiving and reporting
12 · FIELD PRACTICE

Autonomous Flight Practice in Metro Tunnels

Field material shows drone cruise, altitude holding and close-range capture in curved tunnels with complex pipelines and overhead-contact equipment.

Drone conducting a perception-guided flight in a metro tunnel
Autonomous cruise along the tunnel
Confined-space drone flying at close range in a tunnel
Close-range flight around complex facilities
Inspection drone being prepared for a metro tunnel mission
Field deployment and mission preparation

Page parameters and configurations describe capabilities. Actual range, endurance, payload, communications and recognition depend on platform, environment and acceptance conditions.

CONFIGURE FOR YOUR SPACE

Configure Operations from Spatial Structure and Inspection Objectives

Provide site survey, equipment selection, map and route preparation, system integration, mission validation and personnel training.

Contact a Solution Specialist ↗

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