Tag Archives: Terra Drone

Terra Drone captures North America market share with UAS Inc deal

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Japan’s Terra Drone is to form a new subsidiary in Canada, Terra Drone Mining, following the signing of an investment agreement with Ontario-based Unmanned Aerial Services Incorporated (UAS Inc).

Established in 2017, UAS inc is an inspection service provider for indoor industrial confined spaces and underground mine locations. It counts among its clients some of the world’s leading mining companies including Vale, Newmont Goldcorp, Barrick Gold, and Glencore.

The agreement will see Terra Drone Mining provide cutting-edge unmanned mapping and inspection services to underground mines across the world, according to Terra Drone, with the investment allowing the newly-formed company to expand UAS Inc’s business beyond North America into South/Central America, South Africa, Central Asia, Russia, and Australia.

Terra Drone said: “Accidents in underground mines have remained a serious issue around the world throughout the last century. Workers not only suffer from health issues caused by working in dark and narrow tunnels day after day, but they are also prone to accidents caused by falling material, flooding, as well as underground fires and explosions.

“The risk of such incidents can be minimised by using unmanned inspection solutions, aka drones.”

Terra Drone uses a mapping technology called Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) to create highly detailed maps of underground areas. Since a drone can reach areas that are not easily or safely accessible to humans or traditional CMS scanners, mine operators can use drones to obtain 3D models of the mines, and prevent workers from entering hazardous locations.

Terra Drone concluded: “Terra Drone Mining will be able to leverage both this advanced UAV technology as well as the underground mining inspection know-how that UAS Inc has cultivated over time to create a robust local service network.”

Terra Drone branches out into Kazakhstan UAV market

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Japan-based Terra Drone has continued with its global expansion, having invested in a leading UAV company in Kazakhstan, KazUAV.

With this investment, KazUAV joins Terra Drone’s network of over 25 group companies and technology partners committed to providing cutting-edge yet cost-effective drone services across the globe, the leading drone solution said.

Terra Drone said: “Established in 2016, KazUAV is a known name in Kazakhstan’s drone ecosystem, having provided GIS services to several government agencies and private companies.”

In 2018, at the request of the International Civil Aviation Organization, KazUAV mapped six airports in the country, totalling a surveyed area of 4 million hectares. The company is also registered to provide surveillance drone services to the Kazakhstan special forces.

As part of the Terra Drone group, KazUAV will be able to leverage technologies to provide various drone-based services and solutions in Kazakhstan, Terra Drone said. These include power line inspection and vegetation management for the energy sector; onshore/offshore infrastructure inspections, tanks inspections, and non-destructive testing for the oil and gas industry; and open-pit and underground mapping services for the mining sector.

Terra Drone already has more than 25 group companies in its network. Just last year, Terra Drone acquired a majority stake in Europe-based drone service provider Skeye, in addition to making an investment in Sweden-based Inkonova.

 

Terra Drone lifts off in South Africa with Sibanye-Stillwater underground demonstration

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Terra Drone South Africa has shown off its surveying expertise to Sibanye-Stillwater, with one of its drones successfully navigating a 3m x 3 m tunnel at one of the gold and PGM miner’s underground assets.

A simultaneous localisation and mapping-equipped drone was able to realise “stable automatic navigation” under a “non-GPS environment,” Terra Drone said. The result was the generation of a highly accurate 3D model.

Terra Drone said the many injuries caused by fall of rock incidents in Africa could be somewhat alleviated through the use of accurate surveying and inspection.

“We believe that this technology (drone mapping) will improve safety and work efficiency in Africa’s mining industry in the future,” the company said.

Teppei Seki, Terra Drone Chief Operating Officer, said he was delighted to have carried out such a demonstration with Sibanye-Stillwater. He said the company would now focus on volume calculation by “making 3D measurements of stopes, survey and inspection for ore path and vertical shaft with Sibanye-Stillwater”.

The collaboration is expected to be a “giant step” towards opening up the development of more underground mines in Africa in the future, he added.

Terra Drone is a leading commercial drone technology company that is expanding. It has a branch in South Africa along with nine others in the world covering mining, oil & gas and electricity solutions.

Skeye is not the limit for Terra Drone as it continues globalisation drive

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Terra Drone has continued its acquisition drive with the purchase of a majority stake in leading European drone service provider Skeye.

With this acquisition, Terra Drone has become one of the largest drone service companies with more than 250 employees and a presence in all continents. As part of the acquisition, Skeye will become the European headquarters of Terra Drone.

This is Terra Drone’s second acquisition in a matter of months. Back in October, it invested in Inkonova AB, a Swedish startup developing aerial robotics for underground mining and, earlier this month, it opened a branch in South Africa.

Terra Drone serves its clients with safer, better and more efficient surveys and inspections by using and developing cutting-edge technologies in the fields of unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones, the company says. It has 10 subsidiaries in Japan, APAC, EU, Africa, North America, and South America and focuses on mining, construction, energy utilities, and oil and gas applications.

Skeye, meanwhile, is an aerial survey and inspection company with a focus on drones in the oil and gas market. It has headquarters in the Netherlands and offices in the UK and Belgium.

Toru Tokushige, CEO of Terra Drone, said the company had discussions with many drone operators in Europe but were especially impressed with the track record and professionalism of Skeye.

“Skeye has an excellent track record and vast professional experience in the on- and offshore oil and gas market, in both inspections and 3D surveys using drones. We consider Skeye to be the best partner to bring our technologies to the European and African market.”

Pieter Franken, managing director of Skeye, said: “Terra Drone will bring a wealth of new technologies and a global network that we can use to better serve our international clients. This will ensure we can keep on providing our customers with the most cutting-edge technologies, now and in the future.

“The TerraUTM operating platform, 4G capabilities for guiding drones over large distances, in-house developed Terra-LiDAR, smart learning inspection software, and their proprietary mapping software, Terra-Mapper, are but a few of examples of technologies that this partnership will bring.”

Japan’s Terra Drone invests in underground aerial robotics startup Inkonova

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Terra Drone, a leading global commercial drone technology company, has acquired a significant stake in Inkonova AB, a Swedish startup developing aerial robotics for underground mining.

The deal, comprised of a cash injection, will see changes to the management team, as well as technical, business development, and operational collaborations, Inkonova said.

Terra Drone’s UAV inspection, survey, and other service provisions cover various industries globally including mining, which just happens to be Inkonova’s main market.

Ahmed AlNomany, Inkonova AB Co-Founder and CEO, said: “Terra Drone’s global network of clients, post-processing domain, service-based business model, customer experience, technical personnel, and human and financial resources, will help us dramatically ramp up our business development and commercial-readiness efforts, taking our technology to the next level.”

Under the deal, Inkonova will supply Terra Drone with its UAV core technology, including anti-dust and waterproof platforms (as in the TILT Ranger, pictured) and infrastructure-denied autonomous navigation (as in the Batonomous technology), while Terra Drone – apart from providing finance – will employ its global clients, local offices, pilots, post-processing capacity, and broader commercial and technical domain expertise.

Toru Tokushige, Founder and CEO of Terra Motors Corp and Terra Drone Corp, who will be appointed as an Inkonova board member, said the company had been looking to partner with other companies in the mining field in order to expand.

“Underground mining still has huge issues. According to the statistics from The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the number of lost-time injuries in 2015 was 4,517 in America, and those of other developing counties were incomparably high.

“So, I hope the cooperation between Terra Drone, with its broad network and innovative technologies, and Inkonova, the eminent company for mining drone services, contributes to the rapid and further technical improvements for underground safety and productivity.”

In line with the partnership, Inkonova’s products will undergo rebranding to streamline with Terra Drone products, details of which will be announced later this month.

Inkonova’s products include aerial platforms, and aerial autonomous navigation/mapping solutions customised to the constraints of underground mines, and subterranean or constricted industrial spaces.

Earlier this year, Inkonova demoed the Batonomous navigation system for its TILT Ranger and TILT Scout underground drones in Gällivare with LKAB. It has since also worked with Barrick Gold on the Golden Sunlight mine in Nevada.