Confined spaces — tanks, silos, industrial chimneys, boilers, culverts — cannot be inspected by a standard drone. Standard drones rely on GPS for stable flight; GPS is unavailable inside enclosed structures. Our purpose-built cage-protected drone uses visual navigation from a live video feed, operating independently of satellite positioning throughout the inspection.
No human entry means no confined space entry permit, no cleaning or decommissioning of the asset before inspection, no atmospheric monitoring, and no standby rescue team. The drone enters through the access hatch, inspects the interior under pilot guidance, and returns — typically completing the work in hours where traditional entry methods would take days of preparation alone.
Do you need the asset shut down before inspecting it?
No. The asset does not need to be taken offline, cleaned, purged, or drained. The drone works in the structure as it stands — which is usually the reason a confined space inspection is commissioned in the first place.
More about tank and vessel inspectionsHow long does an inspection take?
The flight itself is typically completed in hours. The larger saving is in preparation: getting a person into a confined space can take days of organising permits, atmospheric testing, cleaning, and standby rescue cover. None of that is required.
Discuss a structure you need inspectedWhat access do you need on site?
An opening. A base hatch, a manway, a window, or a door is normally enough for the aircraft to enter. Where the structure already has an accessible opening, no scaffolding, cleaning, or temporary works are needed before the inspection begins.
More about our regulatory complianceCan defects be measured, or only photographed?
Both. Video and stills record what a defect looks like; the LiDAR-equipped platform also builds a three-dimensional point cloud of the interior, so defects can be located and measured in the model. On a repeat inspection, they can be measured against the previous survey.
See how chimney interiors are inspectedCan you inspect a structure that is unsafe to enter?
Yes, and it is often the only practical option. After fire or flood, or where there is collapse risk or an unknown floor condition, the drone enters through any available opening and navigates internally to assess the structure without anyone going in.
More about asset inspections
Just call us, and we'll help you.
A confined space inspection conventionally means a person entering the structure. That brings a permit to work, atmospheric testing before and during entry, a written risk assessment, and a standby rescue team outside — all of it required because the entry itself is the hazard. The regulations reflect that: entry must be avoided wherever the work can be carried out another way.
This method carries the work out another way. A cage-protected aircraft enters through the existing opening, performs the internal inspection under live pilot guidance, and returns. No permit, no atmospheric monitoring, no standby rescue team — and no cleaning, purging, or decommissioning of the asset before the inspection can begin.
What does this replace?
Everything that exists to make entry survivable: the permit-to-work, the atmospheric monitoring, the standby rescue cover, and the cleaning or purging that usually has to happen before a person can go in. The inspection still happens. The entry does not.
More about our safety approach
GPS does not penetrate steel, concrete, or underground. A standard drone that depends on satellite positioning becomes unstable or unflyable the moment it enters an enclosed structure — so confined space inspection needs a different aircraft, not a different payload. The platform is enclosed in a spherical cage. When it contacts a wall the cage absorbs the impact, the propellers keep running inside it, and the drone bounces off and recovers its position. That single property is what makes internal flight possible.
Stabilisation inside the structure comes from one of two methods. Visual odometry tracks movement against the surface below, holding a stable hover with no GPS and no external reference. Where the space is dusty, featureless, or low-contrast — the inside of a steel tank, or a concrete flue — SLAM uses LiDAR geometry rather than visual texture, and holds position in conditions where visual odometry would struggle.
What happens if the drone hits the wall?
The cage absorbs the contact and the propellers continue running inside it, so the aircraft bounces off and recovers rather than crashing. There is one specific hazard: long thin objects — probes, sensor mounts, dangling cables — can pass through the gaps in the cage and reach a propeller. These are identified before the drone reaches them.
More about our safety approach
Where a tall structure has a base hatch, the drone always enters from the bottom and flies upward. On the ascent the pilot has a clear view ahead and can identify probes, projections, and constrictions before the aircraft reaches them. Descending from above into an unknown interior removes that advance visibility, so it is avoided.
Endurance inside a structure is short by outdoor standards, so a tall structure is divided into inspection sections planned against battery life before any flight begins — typically ten to fifteen metres of height per battery on a large stack. The drone completes a section, is recovered, the battery is changed, and it re-enters for the next. Each section is documented against its reference height so the interior record stays contiguous.
What happens if the video signal drops?
Signal quality is monitored continuously, and it degrades with height inside a steel structure. If the link drops below a usable level, the aircraft can automatically retrace its recorded flight path until the signal is restored — so the pilot can work further into the structure rather than staying within guaranteed signal range.
Discuss a tall structure you need inspected
The inspection produces more than footage. Alongside HD video and 4K stills, the platform builds a SLAM-based LiDAR point cloud of the interior as it flies — a dimensioned, measurable 3D record of the space rather than a set of clips. Defects are located in three dimensions and can be measured against the model.
That matters most on the second inspection. With a baseline model from a previous survey, defect growth can be measured rather than described — the same crack, the same area of coating loss, at two points in time.
Can defects be measured, or only photographed?
Both. Video and stills record what the defect looks like; the LiDAR point cloud records where it is and how large it is. Because the model is dimensional, a later inspection can be measured against the baseline rather than relying on a visual comparison between two sets of images.
See how chimney interiors are inspected
Visible throughout the interior surface — position, extent, and progression documented in the HD video record and LiDAR point cloud.
Tanks, pressure vessels, and steel structures — surface corrosion documented by location and extent with 4K imagery, without abrasive preparation or decommissioning.
Delamination, blistering, cracking, or missing sections of refractory lining, paint, or protective coating — identified and located in a single inspection pass.
Internal surfaces subject to flow, abrasion, or thermal cycling — erosion patterns and areas of material loss recorded by position and extent.
The SLAM-based LiDAR point cloud provides a measurable 3D record of internal geometry — detectable against design dimensions or a previous survey to identify deformation or settlement.
Accumulations, deposits, scale, and partial obstructions — identified and located without any human entry into the structure.
“Every asset operator knows what confined space entry involves — whether it's the permits, the atmospheric monitoring, the standby rescue team. All for good reasons. But a drone can eliminate all of it: no person is going in. That changes how the job is scoped, how long it takes to organise, and what it costs.”
Any enclosed structure that cannot safely be entered by a person, or that would require disproportionate preparation to permit human entry, is a candidate for this method:
External shaft survey and internal inspection completed in a single mobilisation — where a chimney survey is already planned, confined space coverage adds minimal extra cost.
Internal condition assessment without cleaning, decommissioning, or atmospheric monitoring procedures.
Structural assessment of interior walls and base without entry or temporary decommissioning.
Internal inspection without cool-down waiting time or confined space entry procedures.
Condition survey of otherwise inaccessible sections without pumping out, shoring, or entry permits.
Internal assessment through windows or openings without anyone entering the structure.
No confined space entry permit, no atmospheric monitoring, no standby rescue team. The drone enters, inspects, and returns.
Assets do not need to be taken offline, cleaned, or purged before inspection. The drone works in the structure as it stands.
Standard drones cannot fly inside enclosed structures — GPS is unavailable. The confined space drone navigates entirely from the pilot's live video feed.
Alongside HD video, the platform generates a SLAM-based LiDAR point cloud of the interior — a dimensioned 3D record of the space.
Preparation for traditional human entry can take days. The drone is typically on site, inside the structure, and delivering footage within hours of arrival.
For structures that cannot safely be entered after fire, flood, or collapse risk, the drone enters through any available opening and navigates internally to assess condition.
Tell us what you need to know, and we will work with you to design an inspection that answers it — a condition assessment ahead of a maintenance decision, a baseline record for an asset that has never been opened, or evidence of what a structure looks like inside.
A typical confined space inspection delivers HD video of the interior surfaces, 4K still photography of each defect or condition, a SLAM-based LiDAR point cloud of the space where a dimensional record is required, and a written report setting out the findings by location and extent.
A dimensioned 3D record of the internal space, measurable against a baseline or a previous survey.
Full interior surface coverage, captured at the resolution needed to identify and evidence defects.
Findings documented by location and extent, with the reference height recorded for each inspection section.
The model is retained, so a later inspection can measure change rather than describe it.
Confined space work in Ireland is governed by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Confined Spaces) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 218 of 2001), alongside the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Regulation 5(1) prohibits entry into a confined space unless it is not reasonably practicable to carry out the work purpose without it. That places a remote method — where it can achieve the required outcome — at the first step of the hierarchy of control.
Does a drone inspection satisfy the confined space regulations?
Regulation 5(1) of S.I. No. 218 of 2001 requires that entry be avoided where it is not reasonably practicable to achieve the work purpose without it. A confined space drone that completes the internal inspection without a person entering is part of a legally relevant avoidance strategy under that regulation — the work is carried out, and nobody goes in.
The regulations govern how an inspection is carried out safely. They do not determine whether a structure is fit for continued service, and where a formal integrity assessment to a particular standard is required, that remains a matter for the appointed inspector.
More about our regulatory compliance HSA Code of Practice for Working in Confined Spaces (PDF)What is required where entry cannot be avoided?
Where entry is unavoidable, the regulations require prior hazard identification, a written risk assessment, and a documented safe system of work before anyone enters. The HSA’s Code of Practice for Working in Confined Spaces treats a formal permit-to-work as the standard control measure. Suitable rescue arrangements — including trained personnel and appropriate equipment — must also be in place before entry begins.
Removing the entry removes all of it. No permit, no atmospheric monitoring, and no standby rescue team are required for the inspection to proceed.
Learn about our approach to HSSE
A confined space drone flown up through a fully drained penstock at Ardnacrusha Power Station during a shutdown, supporting the ESB NDT team with no scaffolding required.
ELIOS 3 confined space drone inspection of two culverts, one beneath the head race canal and one built into Parteen Weir, captured with high-resolution video and a survey-grade point cloud.
Confined space drone inspection of every stage of a gas-fired HRSG during a major shutdown, 4K video of the heat exchangers, exhaust stack and site infrastructure.
Engineers With Drones carried out a detailed inspection of a large above-ground galvanised steel water tank used for fire suppression, using a confined space drone to access the interior.
Engineers With Drones used a confined space drone to inspect a large steel ethanol tank on a natural gas processing facility — eliminating the need for scaffolding or personnel entry.
Confined space drone inspection of a 70-metre riveted steel stack critical to 24/7 production — internal inspection without human entry, shutdown, or cooling-down period.
Engineers With Drones used external 3D scanning and internal confined space drones to survey a derelict hospital building for restoration feasibility, without placing any personnel at risk.
Complex surveys and inspections require more than just a pilot. Our engineers can help you scope your requirements and indentify the right approach.