SNCF Réseau has established a subsidiary, Altamétris, as it looks to market its drone services to the rest of the industry.
SNCF already uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, for monitoring the network and collecting data. Altamétris will expand what is now an internal activity out to the industry.
Altamétris has a team of 20 engineers, pilots and developers and a fleet of 12 UAVs. The drones vary in weight from 2 kg up to 20 kg and come in fixed-wing and rotary-wing varieties.
As well as monitoring the infrastructure, drones can be used for collecting data to support engineering design drawings and 3D modelling.