By: Sylvia Ibarra & Megan Horn, Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition (Autonomy Global Media Partner)
As energy systems grow more complex and operational margins tighten, drones, robotics and AI continue to move from isolated pilots to embedded infrastructure. Utilities, oil and gas operators and mining companies have converged on similar strategies: automate the routine, digitize the risky and move intelligence closer to the point of action.
A familiar mix of pressures drives this change: aging Infrastructure, geographically dispersed assets and more frequent severe weather events. At the same time, experienced workforces have become harder to replace, while expectations around safety, reliability and environmental performance continue to rise.
Against that backdrop, autonomy has transitioned from experimentation to deploying drones and robots with clear intent, integrating them into existing workflows and scaling what works. The ten use cases below show how utilities, oil and gas and mining apply autonomy today as operational muscle…not simply future promise.
1. Centralized Autonomous Inspections for Linear Infrastructure
National Grid has demonstrated how centralized control can unlock scale for transmission inspections. Operating from a remote control center, the utility conducts beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone inspections of high-voltage assets across England and Wales. Rather than dispatching crews or helicopters for routine checks, autonomous drones collect close-range visual data that feeds directly into maintenance planning and long-term capital investment decisions. This approach reduces safety exposure, lowers environmental impact and produces more consistent datasets over time. It also allows skilled lineworkers to focus on complex interventions where human expertise delivers the most value.
2. Long-Range Grid Monitoring with Uncrewed Helicopters
Southern Company has taken a different approach to scale by deploying uncrewed helicopter-style UAVs capable of longer endurance and heavier sensor payloads. These platforms are well suited for long-distance transmission corridors and wide service territories. The real advantage lies in repeatability. Identical flight paths generate comparable datasets across inspection cycles, which creates a foundation for AI-driven analysis. Subtle changes in asset condition that might escape the human eye become detectable over time. This allows maintenance teams to intervene earlier and plan with greater confidence.
3. AI at the Edge for Faster Utility Decisions
Speed matters when inspections drive outages, repairs or regulatory reporting. Exelon and Baltimore Gas and Electric have pushed intelligence directly onto the aircraft by deploying autonomous drones equipped with edge computing and real-time computer vision. Instead of collecting thousands of images for post-flight review, they detect and prioritize defects during flight. Inspection planning time drops from hours to seconds. It eliminates manual photo review. Crews receive actionable insight while issues remain still small enough to address efficiently. Faster decision-making with fewer bottlenecks results.
4. Drone-in-a-Box (DIB) as a Daily Operating Tool
Florida Power & Light shows what happens when autonomy becomes routine. The utility conducts hundreds of autonomous drone flights each day using DIB systems that launch, inspect, recharge and upload data without human intervention. Equipped with thermal imaging and visual sensors, these drones identify heat anomalies and emerging issues before failures occur. For a utility operating across a large, weather-exposed service area, this level of automation enables proactive maintenance and faster response times while reducing the need for manual dispatch.
5. Aerial Robotics for Live-Line Maintenance
Aerial robotics no longer forms the ceiling for inspection. Duke Robotics has expanded the role of drones into physical grid maintenance with systems capable of cleaning energized insulators. By enabling live-line cleaning with inspection, utilities can reduce outages and limit human exposure to high-voltage environments. This use case highlights a broader shift in how utilities view drones as tools that can actively perform work once reserved for crews in hazardous conditions, and not just as “eyes in the sky.”
6. Autonomous Inspections Across Upstream Oil and Gas Assets
Chevron has adopted docked, autonomous drone systems from Percepto to inspect large upstream assets without routine site visits. These systems conduct scheduled and on-demand missions. They collect visual and gas-detection data and flag anomalies using AI. The benefits include fewer site visits, reduced driving, improved safety and faster access to insight. Other major operators such as ExxonMobil continue to pursue similar strategies, as autonomy becomes foundational to remote monitoring and inspection across expansive asset portfolios.
7. Ground Robots for Industrial Facility Inspections
Autonomy does not stop at the airspace. At an industrial facility operated by Cargill, a quadruped robot from Boston Dynamics performs frequent inspection rounds as part of a broader modernization strategy. Equipped with thermal, acoustic, and visual sensors, the robot detects overheating equipment, air and gas leaks, dust buildup and other early indicators of mechanical or safety issues. The ability to run daily, or even hourly, inspections generates consistent datasets and uncovers problems that manual walkdowns often miss, while reducing personnel exposure to hazardous areas.
8. Confined-Space and Piperack Inspections Without Scaffolding
Piperacks remain among the most difficult and dangerous assets to inspect. Turner Specialty Services deployed a collision-tolerant indoor drone from Flyability to inspect elevated piping and complex structures. The project eliminated the need for scaffolding, rope access and work at height, all of which significantly reduced risk and cost. High-resolution imagery and LiDAR data allowed inspectors to assess insulation, valves and structural conditions in days, rather than weeks, without compromising data quality.
9. Heavy-Lift Cargo Drones for Energy Logistics
Beyond inspection, heavy-lift cargo drones have begun to impact energy logistics. These systems transport tools, spare parts and safety equipment to remote and offshore sites. This reduces reliance on helicopters, vessels and ground vehicles. While payload limits, battery life, and regulatory frameworks continue to evolve, the benefits are already evident. Faster delivery, lower emissions, reduced operational costs and fewer manned flights make cargo drones an increasingly practical option for challenging environments across oil, gas and offshore energy operations.
10. AI-Driven Asset Intelligence and Safety in Mining
BHP applies AI and autonomous technologies across its mining operations with a focus on discovery, equipment reliability and workforce safety. With more than a century of geological data, AI models analyze historical drilling records to accelerate resource discovery and improve early-stage decision-making. At the operational level, AI-enhanced computer vision monitors miles of conveyor systems using standard camera feeds to detect early signs of mechanical failure before issues escalate. The company emphasizes scalable, cost-effective applications that integrate into existing operations and improve productivity and safety across its global asset base.
The Bigger Picture
Across utilities, oil and gas and mining, autonomy delivers the most value when deployed with intent, integrated into workflows and scaled deliberately. Whether it is National Grid centralizing inspections, Southern Company prioritizing repeatable data, Exelon and BGE pushing analytics to the edge, Florida Power & Light embedding drone-in-a-box systems into daily operations, Chevron and ExxonMobil scaling autonomous inspections or BHP applying AI to both discovery and safety, the industry has moved beyond asking whether these technologies work. That question has been answered. The real question now is how quickly organizations can operationalize them and how efficiently they can scale.
Hear the latest real-world automation and AI case studies from across energy and utilities at the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit in Houston, TX, June 22–24, 2026, hosted by Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition, and learn how to grow your programs faster and more efficiently.