CASE C07 · AU · 2024
Sydney: drone inspection of a 70 m shaft and rock tunnels in wastewater assets
Australian firm Metrocorp used a LiDAR drone to survey a 70 m shaft and rock tunnels in Sydney wastewater assets. Without personnel entry, a tunnel survey reportedly fell from over 2 hours to 30 minutes and the crew from 7–10 to 3. The 50–70% cost saving is an estimate in a manufacturer article.
| Owner | Wastewater asset owner (not named) |
| Provider | Metrocorp Technologies |
| Location | Sydney, Australia |
| Aircraft | Flyability Elios 3 with Surveying (LiDAR) payload |
| Sensors | LiDAR, video / photogrammetry |
Before
Confined-space rescue set-ups to lower one person down the 70 m shaft; tunnel traverses by 7–10 people over multiple shifts; weeks of planning and approval.
With drones
The drone was flown in without personnel entry, producing LiDAR point clouds and photogrammetry models.
Outcomes
| Metric | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 175 m rock tunnel | 2 flights in 30 minutes vs upwards of 2 hours | Reported |
| 70 m shaft | mapped in under 30 minutes, saving about 3 hours | Reported |
| crew (four ~17 m tunnels) | 3 people in 1 day vs 7–10 people over multiple shifts | Reported |
| permits/documentation | 90% less | Reported |
| project cost | 50–70% saving | Estimate |
Caveats & limits
- Manufacturer case study; asset owner not named; cost savings are projections.
- No limitations are described; year inferred from payload release and image dates.
Sources
- Bringing safer confined space sewer inspections to Sydney with the Elios 3Flyability Full text read
Sources checked: 2026-10-22