Revolutionising Mining Inspections: The Impact of Flyability's Elios 3 Drone Technology

In this episode, we chat with Patrick Thévoz, the co-founder and CEO of Flyability, and Michael Blake is the Product Manager at the company, who are a Swiss company dedicated to making the world's infrastructure safer and more efficient through innovative drone technology. The company has developed cutting-edge solutions that enable safe and efficient data collection in inaccessible and dangerous environments, serving over 1500 customers worldwide. In today’s episode, we dive into the cutting-edge world of drone technology in mining with the team from Flyability. We’re joined by Patrick and Mike, who bring technical depth and real-world experience to the table. From the capabilities and limitations of Flyability’s Elios 3 drone to its growing adoption across mines worldwide, we unpack how this tech is transforming underground inspections. We’ll explore what it's like to deploy the drone on-site, the kind of data it delivers, and how it fits into existing mining workflows. Plus, we tackle the bigger picture of what drives mines to adopt these solutions, and where this technology is heading next, including the role of AI and autonomy in mining’s digital future. KEY TAKEAWAYS The use of drones in mining significantly enhances safety by reducing the need for human inspections in dangerous areas.  The Elios 3 drone is equipped with various sensors, including LiDAR, thermal cameras, and ultrasonic thickness sensors, allowing for comprehensive data collection. It can create high-density point clouds and perform detailed inspections, which are crucial for mining operations. Flyability's technology is already being utilised by numerous mining companies worldwide, with a significant presence in regions like Canada, South Africa, and Latin America BEST MOMENTS "We started the business as a pure robotics play, pure hardware play, and gradually we started adding more and more sensors on board the machine." "The drone itself takes around five minutes to set up. It's very, very fast." "We estimate we're probably 1% of what could be done with this technology that is done currently. So, you know, growth, growth, growth." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        [e-mail] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ X:              https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast  Web:        http://www.mining-international.org GUEST SOCIALS  https://www.flyability.com/ https://www.facebook.com/flyability.elios/# https://www.linkedin.com/company/flyability/ https://www.instagram.com/fly_ability/ CONTACT METHOD [e-mail] https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.