World leader in remote aerial inspections and surveys, Cyberhawk Innovations, has been awarded a place on a three-year national framework agreement with Network Rail for the provision of Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicle (ROAV) services. Cyberhawk was one of four suppliers to be awarded the contract, which covers railway infrastructure inspections and land surveys including Overhead Line Equipment, Structures, Embankments and covers post-incident support.
Cyberhawk uses ROAVs, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones, to provide high quality inspection and land survey information to the oil and gas, renewable and utilities sectors. The Network Rail framework agreement is Cyberhawk’s first framework contract in the transport sector. Using highly trained pilots and experienced inspection engineers and land surveyors, Cyberhawk provides detailed information to aid management decisions. The company recently launched iHawk, a web browser based software package to provide an intuitive method of delivering detailed ROAV inspection and survey information.
Cyberhawk CEO, Craig Roberts, said: “This contract underlines the huge benefits of information provided by Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicles (ROAVs) in complex industrial settings. Network Rail recognised the potential for this technology several years ago and have been very forward thinking in setting up this national framework agreement. Cyberhawk’s remote aerial surveys and inspections will help to reduce the need for working at height and minimise disruption to customers.”
Network Rail runs, maintains and develops rail tracks, signalling, bridges, tunnels, level crossings, viaducts and 18 stations in the UK, with over 20,000 miles of track and 40,000 bridges and tunnels. The use of ROAVs will reduce the amount of working at height required on Network Rails assets, and increase the speed and accuracy of data collection to provide cost-effective survey and inspection information.
