Utilities in Europe to use long-distance drones for inspections

Prototypes of BVLOS drones, so called because they travel "beyond the visual line of sight" of operators, are being tested by Italy's Snam, Europe's largest gas utility, and EDF's network subsidiary, RTE in France. Snam told Reuters they have been doing field-testing with BVLOS drones in the Apennine hills around Genoa. It hopes to have it scouting a 20 kilometer (12.4 miles) stretch of pipeline soon. RTE has also been testing a long-distance drone that have flown 50 kilometers (31 miles) inspecting transmission lines and sending back data that allowed technicians to create a virtual model of a section of the grid. RTE plans on investing 4.8 million euros ($5.6 million) on drone technology over the next two years.