Project snapshot
The challenge
Long, twisting power lines cross forests and rolling hills.
- Crews must keep drones low and level to spot defects yet stay clear of towers and trees.
- Manual waypoint entry in basic apps was slow, error-prone, and often led to image gaps or the need to repeat flights.
Trident’s UAS team supports utility infrastructure inspections by flying long stretches of high-voltage transmission lines across rural, hilly terrain. Before UgCS, planning flights was manual, time-consuming, and error-prone, especially for corridor missions.
They needed a solution that could:
- Automate flight path creation across uneven terrain
- Reduce on-site prep and mission adjustments
- Improve data quality and consistency
- Comply with VLOS regulations in complex environments
Solution: UgCS Enterprise
Trident adopted UgCS Enterprise for all mission planning across their drone platforms. It quickly became a core part of their workflow—used to preplan, simulate, and export missions for corridor mapping, terrain-aware photogrammetry, and infrastructure inspection.
Key Features Used:
- Terrain-following with public DEM integration
- Corridor Mapping Tool for structured, parallel flight lines
- Placemark tool to predefine launch zones and improve crew coordination
- GIS/KML import to match tower coordinates and utility asset layouts
- Offline planning for remote, no-signal zones
- Advanced gimbal and camera control for consistent image overlap
Client Testimonial
“UgCS has become a cornerstone of our UAS inspections. The terrain-aware tools and corridor planning features have saved us hours of prep time and elevated the safety and quality of our missions.” — Ian Valway, UAS Services Supervisor, Trident Industries
Measurable Results
- 70% reduction in planning time per mission
- 30–40% faster field execution
- Zero redundant flights due to improved flight path accuracy
- Higher quality photogrammetry results with better overlap and AGL tracking
- Consistent, repeatable workflows across teams and drones
Competitive Advantage Gained
Before UgCS, Trident relied on generic flight apps. After switching, they unlocked:
- Accurate terrain-adaptive flight paths
- GIS-driven mission planning
- Reliable pre-planning of launch sites with Placemarks
- Standardized ops across aircraft and operators
- Full offline capabilities in remote areas
Other platforms couldn’t handle complex corridor workflows or match UgCS's control over AGL and route structure.
Before vs. After
Key Value Delivered
- Functional: Planning time reduction, improved data quality, offline capability
- Ease of Business: Faster onboarding, offline availability, multi-platform standardization
- Individual: Reduced operator stress, greater field confidence, smoother handovers
- Strategic: Safer VLOS missions, lower risk of mission failure, compliance across varied terrain
Looking ahead
With UgCS Enterprise in place, Trident can drop any new circuit into its GIS, press “Corridor,” and spin up a ready-to-fly mission in minutes. The result is a leaner inspection program that spends less time drawing dots on a map and more time keeping the lights on for Midwestern homes and businesses.
