Macomb County is turning to drone and artificial intelligence technology to inspect aging pipes.
County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said a small drone will fly through sewer pipes and artificial intelligence will help identify potential problems underground.
“Having the ability with this artificial intelligence to assess all this data and then give you direction is really a big game changer,” said Miller.
Jim Findlay is with Flybotix. He said the drone, which is incased in a protective cage, can easily access pipes that otherwise would require expensive and extensive work to reach.
“I’ve worked with customers that have saved over a million dollars a year….in just using the drone as a flying camera versus actually putting people in manually…or using scaffolding…or putting people underground using ropes,” said Findlay.
The total cost for the drone and the artificial intelligence software is $100,000. Macomb County had been spending about $1 million every three years for inspections which included a contractor collecting, analyzing and coding the data before reporting it to Public Works engineers. That expense is now eliminated, and staff time is freed up which increases productivity.
Miller says the drone program has saved the county millions of dollars in just the past few months
