The 2019 Houston Energy Drone & Robotics Summit brought together 100+ energy tech companies with their sights set on targeted UAV/Robotics operations.

Covering aerial, ground/surface & subsea energy operations, attendees gained insight into real world examples of starting and scaling drone/robotics operations. Key-note speakers shared energy use cases and specific software/data/AI solutions to UAV operations for energy companies, as well as best practices for risk management, data acquisition/management/security, and disaster response for critical infrastructure.

“With a developed interest in integrating Drone technology and automated robotics into our own infrastructure we attended the exhibit to look for new technology highlights that could potentially bring our strategic efforts in this direction forward.” IPOZ | Joel

Here’s our take!

The Most Offshore Industry Applicable Drone

Large flying machines specialists, Skyways, were showcasing their large scale drone capable of carrying up to 40 lbs. New to the market, on site reps were interested in taking their highly sought after piece of tech into the offshore market.

If you consider the cost of sending a helicopter out to a vessel, we can see where this technology could actually really make a difference in an operators expenditure. There are so many times when operators require a special piece of equipment or a single tool and the cost to get them onsite can be astronomical – this concept could really have a great impact on the bottom line in this regard.

The Best Robotics Onsite

Onsite demos for Sarcos will be hosted on our social channels - follow #ipoz for more!

Although the show had a predominant focus on drone solutions – dexterous robot designers, Sarcos, offered a preview into their autonomous, highly mobile robotic systems – stealing the show for those of us primarily focused on industrial applications.

Showcasing demos of their Guardian™ S robot in an onsite sand pit to simulate an internal pipe inspection – the reps of Sarcos just touched on their soon to be released Guardian™ XO robot is a powered, untethered, industrial exoskeleton suit that improves human strength and endurance without restricting the operator’s freedom of movement.

“Basically, to me this is like transformers brought to life! (In a way 😉) Their advertising was pretty smart – strategically showing their suit being worn by a woman to emphasize the flexibility goals of their products design is inspiring for me – this is what technology is for – making the lives of all humans easier and enhanced.” IPOZ | Kayla

Don’t miss the Gaurdian XO preview video here.

The Talks

“Although smaller than expected – the show brought together a great crowd of speakers who touched on some interesting topics – there was an apparent division between those who know where their technology can actually impact industry and those designing with an untargeted solution intent. Those that really stood out used real examples where they proved a difference for their own respective clients – audience questions seemed to lean more towards less “solution” driven questions and were more focused on the buzz of “drones” wondering about their speed capabilities rather than the data deliverables and impact to operations.” IPOZ | Kayla