Aerial Utility Inspection Systems
Every mile. Every sensor. One flight.
Transmission lines, pipelines, and right-of-way corridors demand fast, accurate, repeatable inspection. GSS utility systems capture up to five data streams simultaneously — so your team gets everything it needs without flying the line twice.
The infrastructure that powers modern life — transmission towers, pipelines, substations, corridor easements — requires constant monitoring across thousands of miles of terrain that ground crews can’t efficiently reach. The stakes are high: undetected faults mean unplanned outages, safety hazards, and in the wrong conditions, wildfire. Aerial inspection is the answer. The right aerial inspection system is the difference between a productive flight and one you have to repeat.
GSS utility gimbals are purpose-built for this work: multi-sensor, open-architecture platforms that integrate the imaging payloads your inspection program requires, stabilized and geo-tagged for data you can actually use.
What our customers are doing in the field.
Transmission Line Inspection
Routine end-to-end monitoring of high-voltage transmission infrastructure is one of the most demanding aerial inspection missions in the industry. GSS customers — including major U.S. power companies — run mixed fleets of drones and helicopters, using long-focal-length EO and thermal sensors to document conductor condition, hardware integrity, and vegetation encroachment across entire transmission corridors in a single pass.
The helicopter advantage: when you need speed, range, and the ability to carry multiple sensors at once, nothing matches a crewed aircraft with a GSS gimbal underneath it.
Purpose-built for the mission. Configured for your program.
Every utility inspection program is different. GSS utility gimbals are configurable — operators choose the sensor combination that fits their work, and can swap payloads as assignments change. Flying electric lines today, gas lines tomorrow? Your gimbal handles both.
GSS U512 Series — Streamlined and configurable
For operators who prefer a focused two-sensor configuration, the U512 series offers a 5-axis gyro-stabilized platform in a more streamlined package. Common configurations include thermal + 4K video, OGI + 4K video, video + high-resolution stills, and video + UV corona — but sensors are swappable, so the platform adapts as your work does.
On the Horizon: Autonomous fault detection
We’re working with a software partner on AI-assisted line monitoring that automates the inspection workflow — from gimbal control to fault identification to reporting — entirely in flight. It’s in active development, and it’s purpose-built for operators who want to stay at the leading edge of what aerial inspection can do.
GSS U416 — The full picture
The U416 is our flagship utility inspection platform: a 4-axis gyro-stabilized gimbal capable of housing up to four imaging sensors plus an integrated laser rangefinder — five data streams in a single flight. The LRF is essential to the geolocation task, providing the triangulation data needed for precise ground-point location while airborne.
Configure it for your program: EO, thermal, UV corona, OGI, high-resolution stills — any combination your inspection requirements demand. Open-architecture design means new sensor options integrate as the technology evolves.
Key specs: 4-axis gyro-stabilization · 360° continuous azimuth · Up to 4 imaging sensors + LRF · 200 kt max airspeed · Operates −20° to +50°C · Sealed for airborne, ground, and marine use
“The GSS U416 is perfect for what we’re trying to solve in the Utility space.”
— Eric Goetsch, VP of Helicopter Operations and R&D, SkySkopes
Navigation Built In
With integrated navigation systems and sensor controls, we enable fast, geotagged images of utility assets, right-of-ways and the surrounding natural hazards, Gyro-Stabilized Systems utility gimbals put the most advanced camera and sensor technologies into a rock-solid, gyro-stabilized platform to gives you a wide variety of geo-tagged data in the formats you need. With an open-architecture design, our gimbals are flexible, customizable and integrate seamlessly with the GeoPro™ – our proprietary inertial navigation system – creating a high-performance, multi-sensor utility inspection resource.
“Aerial surveys conducted from helicopters play a crucial role in many areas, from surveying the powerlines and pipelines that underpin modern technological societies to environmental and agricultural monitoring and wildfire mapping. Peter Donaldson reviews the equipment solutions that make it all possible.”
– Rotorhub International, Feb/Mar 2024
Multi-sensor imagery
GSS Utility systems integrate the highest quality sensors on the market producing a world-class, high-performance inspection system that utilizes the most advanced camera technology. All systems are custom-built for flexibility. The interchangeable sensors include:
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Digital Still Photos
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4K/HD Daylight Camera
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High-resolution Thermal IR
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Corona Detection
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Geo-Referencing/Tracking
FAST, SAFE and DATA-RICH
Capture the data you need in a single flight at a safe distance with the GSS integrated gimbal platform. Each gimbal houses two to five sensors giving you multiple channels of critical information simultaneously.
Higher altitudes and faster flight speeds for the most efficient data collection
Fly at 500 feet and capture high-quality images with a longer focal length
Geo-referenced, multi-sensor, high-resolution imagery
Full solution that allows you to organize and analyze large amounts of collected data
Powerline Inspection
Corona Detection
Electrical corona — the UV light emitted by components operating under excessive electrical stress — is one of the earliest and most reliable indicators of developing faults on transmission towers and substation equipment. Left undetected, corona activity precedes insulator failure, arcing, and the kind of unplanned events no utility operator wants to explain.
GSS utility gimbals support UV corona detection cameras as an integrated payload option, capturing corona data simultaneously with EO and thermal imagery — flagging at-risk components before they become failures.
Pipeline & Leak Detection
Natural gas and petroleum infrastructure presents a different set of inspection priorities — particularly the detection of invisible hydrocarbon leaks that pose safety and environmental risks. GSS utility systems integrate Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras, including solutions from FLIR and Sierra-Olympia, to make gas leaks visible in real time from the aircraft.
Combined with EO and thermal channels, an OGI-equipped GSS gimbal gives pipeline operators a comprehensive aerial view of their infrastructure in a single flight.
Pipeline Inspection
Right-of-Way & Construction Surveys
Planning and permitting for linear infrastructure projects requires comprehensive, geo-referenced visual documentation of the entire corridor — often hundreds of miles of it. GSS systems combine high-definition video with high-resolution still imaging to produce a complete, queryable record of the ROW.
Case study: An 800-mile right-of-way — fully documented in three days. A geo-tagged 100MP+ photograph captured every 1.5 seconds, giving project planners an overhead image of any point along the corridor, on demand. That’s not a drone job. That’s a helicopter with the right system underneath it.
Gas Leak Detection
Ready to build your inspection program around a platform that gets it done?
Tell us about your inspection requirements and we’ll show you how GSS fits in.