NM Group become first to test Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight LiDAR UAV

In July 2016, a Midwest utility completed a project with NM Group to deploy an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with LiDAR technology testing its suitability for vegetation compliance analysis. This project was the first time a LiDAR equipped UAV has been tested Beyond Visual Line of Site (BVLOS) for a power utility.

The project demonstrated the suitability of LiDAR scanning for vegetation management applications, and the capability of the platform to operate in a BVLOS capacity.

Nick Ferguson, Senior Vice President at NM Group commented “Our client is paving the way for other utilities by adopting the latest capture methods. This test project demonstrates that LiDAR and UAV technology have huge benefits for vegetation management applications”.