Drones for Radiation Detection: Azur Drones Partners with AVNIR Energy

Azur Drones, AVNIR Energy integrate to develop automated drones for radiation detection.

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Azur Drones, a world leader in autonomous surveillance and inspection drones, is collaborating with AVNIR Energy, a specialist in engineering in the nuclear energy sector, to develop the first ever autonomous aerial solution for detecting radioactivity. The solution is designed for the environmental monitoring of nuclear sites, as well as ensuring the safety of these sites, both in France and abroad.

The collaboration sees the integration of a radioactivity sensor into Azur Drones’ Skeyetech drone-in-a-box solution. Skeyetech, a resident autonomous drone capable of carrying out its missions without a remote pilot, is the first drone system to be approved in Europe for Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) flights. Skeyetech now embarks AVNIR Energy’s Ionised Zone Inspection Device (DIZI), resulting in the first autonomous vector able to perform detection missions on operational nuclear sites.

Drones for Radiation Detection

Director of AVNIR Energy Jacques Charvin explains, “the DIZI sensor is much more than just a Geiger counter, it is a scintillation detector capable of detecting, measuring and identifying the radioisotopes present. We are delighted to have succeeded in integrating this state-of-the-art sensor on an autonomous drone”.

“The integration of the DIZI sensor on the Skeyetech solution offers the possibility of carrying out radioactivity readings at any location on a site in complete safety,” said Azur Drones COO Nicolas Billecocq. “As a result, we are actively participating in the environmental monitoring of nuclear sites and contributing to their safety.”

The solution administers real-time readings during its routine surveillance, and can also be deployed in seconds to a given site in response to an alert. In a situation that renders human access inadvisable or impossible, Skeyetech-DIZI can be controlled remotely and deployed to complete reconnaissance and site inspection missions. The solution is currently being rolled out in France on a site belonging to a leading nuclear industry player, and is already attracting interest from several nuclear operators, both in France and abroad.

“We are proud of the collaboration between Azur Drones and AVNIR Energy, which provides the nuclear industry with an innovative and truly value-creating solution”, added Azur Drones CEO Jean-Marc Crépin.

To learn more about Azur’s unique drone-in-a-box solution, see our previous articles on Azur’s investment funding, security application at Dunkirk port, and work in Denmark.

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.