DENVER, CO -- Flyability has been recognized by Airwards as the winner in the Survey and Inspection category for its entry Confined Space Inspection Drones.

Over the last year, Flyability has reported on the use of its indoor Elios drones in the ice caves of Greenland, an abandoned nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, and a dam being built at over a mile (1.6 km) high in the Swiss Alps. 

In addition to these unique missions, Flyability’s Elios 2 has been used for crucial inspection work across multiple industries, saving companies millions in inspection costs and reduced downtimes, and eliminating thousands of hours of dangerous confined space entry for inspectors.

In recognition of these achievements, this week Airwards announced that Flyability has been given the Survey and Inspection award.

“We are honored to have the work we do to deploy drones instead of humans for dangerous indoor inspection jobs recognized by Airwards," says Flyability co-founder and CEO, Patrick Thévoz. "Since launching Flyability in 2014 we have dedicated ourselves to creating drones that can remove the need for humans to enter dangerous confined spaces in order to collect inspection data. This award means a lot to our team, and is an important sign that we are on the right track in that mission.”

Not only does the Elios 2 make inspections safer by reducing the need for inspectors to enter hazardous confined spaces, it also makes them quicker and cheaper. All of these benefits contributed to Airwards’ selection of Flyability as the winner for this year in the Survey and Inspection category.

Here is what the Airwards judges said about why they chose Flyability as the winner for the Survey and Inspection category:

A market-leading solution having a global impact in the inspection of hard-to-reach places, keeping humans out of harm’s way. Not only is this an amazing bit of kit, but as a product and service, it is very well designed and clearly provides significant safety benefits. It is designed with safety of personnel in mind, meaning no need to conduct inspections manually. The drone is designed to remove people from working at height and in hazardous spaces, and it also helps facilities run more efficiently and thus sustainably. Ultimately, this is not about replacing jobs; it is about helping people with their jobs and ensuring they’re not placed in danger.

Airwards is the first awards platform focused specifically on identifying, recognizing, and championing drone use cases around the world. Other Airwards winners this year include American Robotics, Volansi, and White Fox Defense Technologies.

“Industries as diverse as Oil & Gas, Wastewater Management, and Food and Beverage are starting to see the huge potential of indoor drones for improving safety and reducing costs for internal inspection work,” says Alexandre Meldem, VP of Sales at Flyability Inc. “It has been a true team effort to develop the indoor drone technology we have today, and we are constantly working to improve that technology toward achieving our company’s mission of removing the need for humans to enter dangerous confined spaces.”

See the full list of this year’s Airwards winners on the Airwards website.