Legacy Pipeline Inspections Weren’t Designed for Scale — Until Now

For decades, pipeline inspections relied on fragmented workflows. Visual reviews, LiDAR mapping, gas detection, and orthophotography were typically handled as separate operations, each requiring dedicated flights, crews, and planning.

In many cases, combining these functions into a single pass was technically and logistically impractical — creating delays, driving up costs, and limiting repeatability.

Today, that limitation is gone.

With multi-payload BVLOS RPAS like the SwissDrones SDO50 — and Xplorate’s integrated Flight Standards and Intelligence DATA Platform — pipeline operators can now capture more data in one flight than was previously possible in an entire week of siloed operations.

This is what scalable, intelligent pipeline monitoring looks like in 2025.

What Is a Multi-Payload Drone Mission?

A multi-payload mission refers to a single drone flight that carries and operates multiple advanced sensors simultaneously. Xplorate’s typical configuration includes:

• High-Density LiDAR – For terrain deformation, trenching, and erosion mapping

• 360° HD Video – For immersive ROW playback and condition review

• High-Resolution RGB + Orthomosaics – For visual inspection, annotation, and GIS layering

• Methane or Gas Detection – For airborne leak detection along the corridor

These sensors operate in sync, collecting multi-layered insights in a single BVLOS pass — reducing complexity and improving decision speed.

Why Multi-Payload BVLOS Outperforms Traditional and Satellite Methods

In both access and data quality, BVLOS drone missions offer the best of both worlds: the resolution of close-range inspection with the reach of remote sensing.

Why Aircraft Choice Matters

Flying four advanced sensors together demands a platform with endurance, stability, and payload capacity. This is where the SwissDrones SDO50 excels:

• Up to 45 kg of usable payload capacity

• ->3 hours of continuous endurance

• Cruise speeds of 10–40 knots for precision mapping and long time-on-target

• True hover for spot assessments and stationary video capture

Unlike VTOLs and fixed-wing RPAS, the SDO50 maintains sensor alignment and image quality under load and while turning— with proven field resilience and flight time that supports corridor-scale operations.

From Data to Decision: One Pass, One Upload

After each flight, the full data stack — LiDAR, Video, RGB, Orthophoto, Gas — is synchronised within the Xplorate Intelligence capability stack where it is:

• Time- and geo-aligned

• Auto-processed for anomaly detection

• Packaged into export-ready formats for GIS, SCADA, or direct-to-stakeholder reporting

Deliverables include:

• LiDAR terrain and encroachment maps

• Annotated 360° corridor videos

• High-resolution RGB orthomosaics

• Leak probability overlays

• Executive summaries and geospatial exports

When to Use Multi-Payload Missions

We recommend multi-sensor BVLOS flights when:

• You require maximum data in minimal flight time

• You’re working in remote or hazardous terrain

• You need a repeatable inspection cadence that scales

• You want to replace multiple asset mobilisations with one clean operation

Use cases include baseline mapping, anomaly investigation, ROW vegetation audits, and post-event integrity assessments.

Conclusion: Finally, Pipeline Monitoring That Scales

Multi-payload BVLOS inspection is not just a cost-saving tactic. It’s a new way to operate — one that allows teams to monitor more infrastructure, more often, with better data and less effort.

The ability to combine sensors into one sortie — and deliver unified, actionable outputs — gives operators the control and clarity needed to scale preventative maintenance and reduce operational risk.

This is the future of pipeline integrity: high-resolution, multi-dimensional data — captured remotely, delivered rapidly, and scaled with confidence.

Ready to move to scalable integrity monitoring?

Book a demo or request a sample multi-sensor data package today.

Let’s redefine how your assets are inspected — one intelligent flight at a time.