Networx3 - ARPAS UK

SAM IS ....

Networx3 UAV is helping businesses across the UK to beat sky-high energy bills

Using two of the most advanced drones in its fleet Networx3 UAV’s professional drone pilots are conducting roof inspections on commercial premises ahead of solar panel installations.

Networx3 UAV have teamed up with fellow Lancashire firm Squirrel Energy who install electricity-generating solar panels for businesses who want to beat the energy crisis.

With most businesses feeling the financial pressure from rocketing gas and electricity bills green energy experts Squirrel have been inundated with new customers looking for ways to bring this unavoidable overhead down.

Networx3 UAV’s drone roof surveys are the first step on the road to tackling huge hikes in energy costs. In a few hours their inspection can give a green light to, or identify remediation work that needs to take place in advance of, a solar panel installation.

Networx3 UAV managing director and commercial drone pilot Ian Ashworth said: “Our crystal clear ‘eye in the sky’ drone footage has meant there’s no need for scaffolding and cherry pickers to access the roofs and survey them – that’s a big saving in terms of time and cost.

“Drones can get to places which are awkward, inaccessible and expensive to reach and beam back live video of what they find to our state-of-the-art mobile drone control centre vehicle allowing clients to direct the flight in real-time.”

In the last three months, Networx3 UAV have conducted drone roof surveys on warehouses, workshops and offices all over the UK including:

A vehicle import and logistics business on the banks of the River Humber in Immingham, Lincolnshire;
An accident repair centre in Telford, Shropshire;
A rubber products supplier in Thornton, Lancashire;
A car repair and maintenance business in Croydon, London;
A business finance specialist company in Blackburn, Lancashire.

Squirrel Energy managing director David Heys said: “If you’re going to put solar panels on the roof for 30 years you have to know the roof is in good shape to start with so that’s why it’s very important that we do a roof survey in advance.

“Some premises we go to will have multiple roofs and old and new buildings where structures have been knocked down, rebuilt and amended.

“The service that Networx3 UAV provides is fantastic; saving time and money for our customers and us.”

For roof survey work outdoors Networx3 UAV deploys its £28,000 Matrice 210 V2 RTK – which includes broadcast quality video, thermal imaging and high-definition cameras which can pick up an image the size of a postage stamp from a kilometer away.

The £32,000 Elios 2 drone, which works indoors, is encased in a cage and is the size and shape of a football. It is fitted with sensors that are designed to sense and avoid obstacles and sustain collisions.

To find out more visit www.networx3uav.co.uk.

SAM IS ....

Bright sparks Networx3 launch new electrical division

Networx3 has launched a new electrical division to the business – to offer a one stop shop solution for clients.

A team of five time-served qualified electricians are running the new arm which provides electrical work alongside the blown fibre optic cable service Networx3 provides to customers in the civil service, utilities and green energy sectors.

Networx3 has just been awarded NAPIT accreditation which demonstrates compliance and competence in the electrical services industry.

The new NAPIT badge means that Networx3 now offer a turnkey solution to clients who are installing blown fibre optic cable telecommunications systems.

Michael Calcroft (L) and Darren Williamson (R) with NAPIT accreditation

Networx3 UAV founder and managing director Ian Ashworth said: “This solves a headache for our clients because so much of what we do in telecoms has an electrical element to it – every cabinet we’re feeding cables into has electricity to it and there is often a need to install or upgrade sockets or ports as we go.
“This service complements what Networx3 already provides for clients and is a specialist addition to what we have to offer. It stops delays, makes work seamless and fits in nicely with installations we are already doing in comms rooms, commercial premises and electricity cabinets.

“We can now undertake remediation and upgrade electrical infrastructure, conduct safety checks and bring data and electrics together on every job.”

The new electrical installation branch is headed up by Karl Anderson, Darren Williamson and Michael Calcroft – three ex-Lancashire police officers who have almost 60 years’ experience as qualified electricians between them.

The trio form the backbone of the new branch of the business and work all over the UK doing surveys ahead of fibre optic cable installations for Networx3’s diverse range of nationwide clients.

NAPIT is a Government-approved and United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) membership scheme for the building services and fabric sector.

Stephen Melton, head of commercial at NAPIT said: “It’s great to have Networx3 on board as a NAPIT registered business. They can now extend the service they offer to their many trusted clients who require an end to end solution to their installation work.

“As part of the accreditation process with NAPIT, Networx3 will be assessed to the highest industry standards on an annual basis, giving further piece of mind to their customers.”

To find out more visit www.networx3.co.uk

SAM IS ....

Networx3 UAV harness tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites for client drone work

L to R Michael Haigh from Comms Byte and Ayron Lockwood from Networx3 x 2

Networx3 UAV is using Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites to provide a live feed of its drone flights anywhere and everywhere in the world.

Access to the low orbit satellite internet service has revolutionised how Networx3 UAV’s team of five commercial drone pilots conduct client work.

Using Starlink, and the cloud-based drone admin system FlightHub2, the Networx3 UAV drone fleet can now beam back real-time video of flights from the UK’s most inaccessible places.

The new technology allows Networx3 UAV to work in locations such as remote quarries, culverts, sewers, isolated reservoirs and rural solar or wind farms without having to factor in patchy conventional internet access or ‘internet dead zones’.

Thanks to Networx3 UAV’s investment in Starlink and FlightHub2 there is now nowhere in the four nations from where live drone footage can’t be beamed into a client’s office, mobile phone, laptop or boardroom anywhere in the world.

With a Starlink dish mounted to the Networx3 UAV’s mobile control center van their drones connect to the 3,000- strong satellite network orbiting 550km above the Earth.

Networx3 UAV managing director Ian Ashworth, and commercial drone pilot, said: “Networx3 UAV is now operating at a level where very few drone operators can operate. We have invested heavily in this serious, expensive and complex tech and we can guarantee that our drones can beam back stills and video, in real-time, from the most far-flung and remote internet black spots anywhere in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

“We’re really excited about the work we can now do in mine shafts, pipework, green energy plants and from mountain tops to deep valleys.

“We envisage clients watching their live stream and directing the pilot to particular points of interest or simply watching the flight unfold.”

The Starlink advanced satellite system has only been available in the UK since January 2021. It was designed, as a civilian program, to provide internet to undersupplied regions far from urban centers beaming internet connections to hard-to-reach places across the globe.

But recently Starlink has been a vital source of connectivity during Russia’s war in Ukraine. The satellite network has been used to connect Ukraine with the internet and help it win the drone war.

Stockport-based tech company Comms Byte worked with Networx3 UAV to complete the Starlink install.
Director Amjad Shakeel said: “Comms-Byte specialises in helping customers build and maintain IT infrastructure for different types of business situations so the Starlink install was one that we were eager to be involved with.

“It is an innovative, cutting-edge technology with new age, almost sci-fi-like, hardware. The solution allows Networx3 UAV to help its customers to see real-time information of live projects.”

To find out more visit www.networx3uav.co.uk.

SAM IS ....

6 Figure investment provides Networx3 drones with most accurate 3D maps available in the UK

ARPAS-UK Member, Networx3 Drones is soaring to new heights following a six-figure investment that will allow it to produce the most accurate 3D maps available in the UK.

The Lancashire-based business operates a fleet of five cutting-edge drones nationwide working for clients such as the emergency services, water companies and energy suppliers.

The new service is now possible after Networx3 Drones started using the world’s first adaptive flight planning app for commercial drone missions coupled with data analytics.

Using this bleeding edge technology Networx3 Drones’ fleet can now capture thousands of photos during a pre-programmed drone flight to create a new, larger photo map.

These high-detail and high-resolution orthomosiac maps offer a distortion-free representation of an area that’s true to the geography on the ground. They are so accurate that they can be used to measure distances between points because they capture real-world conditions.

Networx3 Drones managing director Ian Ashworth said: “Using this emerging technology massively expands what we can do with our drone fleet. We’ve already had interest from the construction and insurance industry and we can see this being used to give a 3D view of any land, property or water.

“The level of detail on the maps we produce is phenomenal. You can see individual roof tiles, rivets on a mobile phone mast and points on a railway line.

“We can record, inspect and survey skyscrapers, bridges, reservoirs, landfill sites, quarries, solar farms, cladding, agricultural land and then produce a 100% accurate digital map for clients like they’ve never seen before.”

Compatible drones from the Networx3 Drones fleet use an app, from autonomous flight software company Hammer Missions, to complete a pre-programmed flight which guarantees 100% coverage of the land or water it’s mapping.

This data is then transformed into an orthomosiac map using software from data analytics experts gNext Labs.

The orthomosiac map service is part of a £100,000-plus investment in Networx3 Drones over the last 18 months.

As part of a major expansion Networx3 Drones now has five qualified commercial drone pilots and a £45,000 drone control vehicle which is home to its hi-tech drones, mapping software and a two-person operations hub.

The new service is being showcased on the Networx3 Drones website: https://www.networx3drones.co.uk/services/drone-mapping

3 September 2020