The UAVs have been armed with thermal imaging systems as well as full HD video cameras. Check out the video from the link below to see how a boiler looks from the inside.

There are many benefits to owning drones. Companies and industries have widely adopted them for a variety of tasks which were previously done by humans.

Con Edision, an energy provider in New York is using drones to inspect 10-story-tall boilers that produce energy and steam for the most iconic buildings in New York City including the Empire State building.

It is only recently that the company chanced upon this idea of using drones equipped with thermal systems and video cameras for inspecting its steam plants on the East Side of Manhattan.

Earlier workers would have had to negotiate tall scaffoldings and go through a confined-space training in order to check the state of the boilers. Now, armed with thermal systems and with video cameras, Con Edison’s 1.1-pound carbon fiber drones can just fly all over the place and capture photos and videos. The UAVs have effectively replaced inspectors at its plants: the drones can not only road around freely 10 minutes at a time, but can also avoid collision with one another and capture videos at 1280x1080p resolution.

Humans though will be still required, thankfully, for they will analyse the acquired images and video footages and decide what needs to be repaired.

According to Margarett Jolly, Con Edison’s director of Research and Development, using drones can help the company “speed up the process while still upholding and perhaps improving quality and safety.”

Here is the video that Con Edison has uploaded of the inspection. Check it out if you want to see how a steam plant looks from the inside.