Cart

Your cart is empty.

Couldn't find what you were looking for?

We'd be happy to help out! Get in touch using the enquiry form below.

Inspecting the uninspectable | Flyability Elios an Australian first

Published by Josh Spires on 23 April, 2018, updated on 23 April, 2021.

Inspecting the uninspectable | Flyability Elios an Australian first

In an Australian first, Sphere Drones becomes the exclusive Training and Service Centre for the Flyability Elios collision tolerant drone.

While hard to believe this clever technology has not been available to the global UAV market earlier, the Flyablity Elios collision tolerant drone is remarkable for its simplicity in design, yet functionality in the field.

Purpose designed and built for the inspection and exploration of inaccessible, confined and indeed hostile spaces, the Elios has the ability to navigate these areas with ease and without the concern of damage to the UAV unit, payload or the equipment being inspected.

Most impressive is the protective frame doesn’t impinge on the UAV’s aerial ability and allows the pilot greater latitude in navigating tight spaces as there is less concern if the UAV bumps into any object.  

Industry perfect

The Elios is the perfect solution for a range of industries where inspection is essential but access is difficult, dangerous or simply impossible for humans.

Mining, oil and gas, public safety, chemical, and power generation facilities and operations are all ideal for the collision tolerant Elios. Boilers, pipework, furnaces and a host of challenging and confined inspection objects are now readily accessible and with the Elios’ sensing payload, key imaging and data is instantaneously available to the operator.

Payload

The Elios payload is equally impressive. It has an embedded full HD camera, a thermal camera, and an on-board LED lighting system with a remotely adjustable intensity. This gives you all the tools to take the best possible imagery in nearly any lighting conditions.

Camera flexibility

The HD camera – with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, has the ability to secure close up images with a sub-millimetre precision of 0.2mm/px. The camera video is streamed to the pilot but also recorded on-board on an SD card that is housed in payload head.

The thermal camera – simply essential in many inspection sorties – is ideal for fine work. Being able to identify a crack or integrity issue in gas pipe for example – and one that the human eye may not be able to see – can save not only time and great deal of money, but lives if the issue is serious.

The camera also enjoys flexibility in movement allowing for better imagery sourcing. Mounted on a rotatable head, the cameras can capture images looking above and below the drone. The HD camera offers a field of view of an amazing 215 degrees, while the thermal camera has a total vertical field of view of 42 degrees and a horizontal view of 56 degrees.

Lighting

In these confined spaces, poor or indeed, no light is common. The Elios overcomes this with on board LED lighting. Providing all the lighting both the pilot and the camera needs, the intensity of the 5 arrays of high-efficiency LEDs provides lighting in front, top, bottom of the UAV and can be adjusted remotely using the ground station.

As well, when changing the pitch angle of the camera head, the light beam always adapts and provides the right amount of light.

The flying environment

As with any professional UAV solution, the drone and it payload must be able to manage the environment it operates in. In the case if the Elios, the environments can be hazardous and extreme indeed!  

Flyability have been industry savvy and made Elios dust and splash resistant, operational in environments between 0° and 50°C, and mistake tolerant so that it can be easily piloted by everyone. Operational after only few hours of training, personnel will quickly get up to speed with their piloting skills. Designed to fly indoors where few or no drone regulations apply, Elios can smoothly integrated into your workflow.

Certifications & training

Because Elios is not like any traditional drone, we have defined certifications and training to prepare yourself for successful operation. The new Training and Service Centre located at Sphere Drones’ headquarters in Sydney will conduct these and will offer three key course options:

  1. Self-training:  This is a free option that will get you underway and activate your warranty
  2. Introductory Training:  This training is designed as an initial step toward proven Elios piloting proficiency
  3. Specialised Training: Designed for those that want to achieve the highest certification or are seeking additional specialisation

Warranty & service

To ensure field success and provide peace-of-mind, a 12 month warranty comes standard with the Elios and, in addition,  we have established a high-standard service program to ensure you get rapid remediation and therefore, minimal downtime for any issues you have.

Periodic maintenance

To ensure maximum operation of your Elios, each unit must be serviced at the Sphere Drones’ Training and Service Centre every 50 hours of flight time. The service includes the replacement of key components so your unit is ready for the next 50 hours of flight and your warranty maintained.

Sphere Drones is a leading Australian provider of comprehensive UAV products and application solutions for the commercial market. Proudly Australian-owned and an operating entity since 1954, their end-to-end system solutions create outcomes that are highly-functional, cost-effective and, most importantly, commercially successful. Carrying the world’s best UAV brands and accessories, their Sydney-based headquarters operates as research and development (R&D) facility, allowing existing and prospective clients to work in tandem with the Sphere Drones team to create custom and often proprietary commercial UAV solutions. Their partnership with Flyability will further enhance this ability.

Interested? Talk to our team

For inquiries or more information, please fill out the form below, and our team will contact you as soon as we can.

Interested? Talk to our team

For inquiries or more information, please fill out the form below, and our team will contact you as soon as we can.

Download brochure

Download technical specifications