Drone inspections across Brisbane
CASA-certified inspection of bridges, towers, dams, roofs and facades, with every finding delivered in an itemised defect register, and pinned to a measurable 3D model when AI defect detection is added.
What a Hover drone inspection is
Hover Aerial Imaging provides CASA-certified drone inspections across Brisbane and South East Queensland: bridges, telecommunications towers, dam faces, roofs, facades and industrial plant. Each asset face is captured from a safe standoff, and every finding comes back in an itemised defect register with its wide and tele frames. Add AI defect detection and the capture is built into a measurable 3D model, with automated detection across every frame and each finding pinned to the model. One accountable operator plans and flies each job; nothing is subcontracted. Insured to $28M, with controlled-airspace approvals arranged per job and mobilisation across SEQ and beyond.
What we inspect
Where access is the expensive part of a condition inspection, a drone covers the asset faster and more completely than rope access or an EWP, and without putting anyone on it.
Bridges & structures
Road and rail bridges, soffits, bearings, upper members and truss nodes: the faces a ground crew samples at best. Under-deck and over-water access without a snooper truck or lane closure; see bridge inspection access methods in Queensland and the Burnett River rail bridge defects liability inspection.
Towers & comms
Telecommunications, transmission and monopole towers inspected in place: antennas, mounts, welds and coatings, with no climb crew and no shutdown.
Dams & spillways
Concrete faces, spillway chutes and outlet works imaged end to end for cracking, spalling and vegetation ingress, including areas unsafe to reach on foot.
Roofs & facades
Commercial and industrial roofs, cladding and building facades documented without scaffold or harness. Ideal for defect assessment and dilapidation records.
Industrial plant
Silos, stacks, conveyors and process structures captured at height, with the flight planned around anyone working below; roof steel inside an operating workshop has been flown indoors, GPS-denied.
Anything else you can see
Over water, at height, in live corridors: wherever putting a person is slow, costly or dangerous. If the surface is visible, it can be captured.
Two levels of deliverable, chosen at scoping
A standard close visual inspection is delivered as an itemised defect register: each item of note numbered, described in plain words, located on the structure and carried with a wide context frame and a tele detail frame from one hover position. Your inspector reviews the findings live or afterwards. No 3D model is built unless one is scoped.
Add AI defect detection and the capture is built into a measurable 3D model and automated detection runs across every frame, detecting cracking from 0.2 mm. The verified findings arrive as a geolocated PDF report your engineer can read on a phone at the asset, with a CSV/GIS register behind it. Step up to an LOD 400 digital twin when you need the geometry as well as the condition.
| Standard output | ITEMISED DEFECT REGISTER |
|---|---|
| Each item | WIDE + TELE FRAMES, ONE HOVER |
| 3D model | WITH AI DETECTION OR A TWIN |
| With AI detection | 3D MODEL + GEOLOCATED PDF + CSV/GIS |
| Crack detection | FROM 0.2 MM (AI DETECTION) |
OUTPUT — DEFECT OVERLAYWhat the drone replaces
A conventional close inspection is mostly the cost of access: rope crews, scaffold, EWP hire, traffic control and permits, with people working next to the structure being inspected. Flown from standoff, the same coverage comes back without that exposure and without closing the asset.
The result is complete coverage, including the soffits, upper members and dam faces that ground passes can't reach. The flight repeats to the same waypoints at the next inspection cycle, and every image is dated for your records. There is more detail on the close visual inspection page.
DEMONSTRATION — COMMS TOWERInspections we've flown
Real infrastructure across Brisbane and Queensland, from a live rail-possession bridge inspection to an under-deck netting verification on the Story Bridge.
Brisbane, the coasts and beyond
Home base is Brisbane. Greater Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redlands are standard local mobilisations, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are within routine reach. Controlled-airspace inspections, including around Brisbane CBD and near the airport, are arranged under CASA approval. For assets further out, see regional QLD & Northern NSW and nationwide major projects.
Drone inspection questions, answered
Q/01What assets can you inspect by drone?
Bridges, telecommunications and transmission towers, dam faces and spillways, roofs and facades, wharves and industrial plant. If the surface is visible from a safe standoff, it can be inspected; most structures across Brisbane and South East Queensland are within scope, including assets in controlled airspace.
Q/02How much does a drone inspection cost in Brisbane?
Price depends on the asset, access and the deliverable. Single-asset visual inspections start from a few hundred dollars, exclusive of GST, and a single structure with AI defect reporting starts in the low four figures. There is no fixed price list; a written scope and fixed price comes back within one business day.
Q/03What do I receive after the inspection?
An itemised defect register: each finding with an ID, the element it sits on, a plain-language description, its location, and a wide and a tele frame from the same hover position. Paired with AI defect detection, findings arrive as a geolocated PDF report, readable without specialist software, with each defect pinned on a measurable 3D model and listed in a CSV/GIS register.
Q/04Are you CASA certified and insured?
Yes. Hover operates under CASA ReOC #9398 with $28M public liability. A JSA, site-specific flight documentation, insurances and operating certificates are supplied ahead of mobilisation, with a SWMS wherever the site requires one. Controlled-airspace approvals, including around the Brisbane CBD, are arranged as part of planning.
Q/05Can you do roof and dilapidation inspections?
Yes. Drone capture documents roofs, facades and pre- and post-construction condition without access equipment, producing dated, geolocated imagery suitable for dilapidation records and defect assessment. Hover provides engineering and asset-condition data; it is not a registered building certifier.
Scope an inspection for your asset
Send the asset, its location and what you need to know. A scoped method and quote come back within one business day.
HARRY BILLING — CHIEF REMOTE PILOT
0411 445 458
[email protected]
CASA ReOC #9398 · $28M PUBLIC LIABILITY