In the Netherlands, Spie can operate drones

Spie Nederland, a subsidiary of Spie in the Netherlands, has just obtained a license from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment to carry out inspections and measurements using a drone. This license provides a waiver allowing it to fly at an altitude above the official 120 m limit.

In the Netherlands, legislation on the piloting of drones is evolving very rapidly. For Spie Nederland, the use of a drone provides a clear advantage in terms of inspections and measurements. It allows an optimal analysis of hard-to-reach areas. However, companies in the Netherlands had to comply with the Civil Aviation Code so far, and the regular changes in the legislation have only accentuated the delays in the granting of licenses.

Since then, Spie Nederland has been granted a waiver license. "We validated the necessary theoretical and practical, the drone was deemed fit to fly and we have established a user manual. We proceeded step by step and we can finally use our drone," said Tara Van Haperen, Driver and now a drone pilot at Spie Nederland, who participated in the enabling procedure.

The company uses an Aibot-X6-V2 drone that can be easily updated with the latest innovations and software versions. It can carry out inspections modeled in two or three dimensions and realize thermal profiles using an infrared camera. The inspected area can be visualized in FULL HD and analyzed in real time thanks to the embedded camera of the drone, while another camera realizes 360 ° shots, saving time and money. For optimum safety, each rotor is protected by a bumper.