Skydio X10: autonomous drone capture for inspections

Skydio unveiled the X10 on 20 September 2023. It is the first enterprise drone that can be trusted to fly within a metre of a structure on its own, which is exactly what facade, roof and bridge inspections need.

What stands out

• Autonomy: six navigation cameras and onboard AI plan a path around obstacles, so an inspector chooses what to capture, not how to fly.
• Sensors: a 64 MP wide camera, a 48 MP telephoto and a radiometric thermal camera in one gimbal.
• 3D Scan mode that automatically photographs a whole structure for photogrammetry with consistent overlap.
• NightSense for autonomous flight in the dark, useful for plants that cannot be inspected during operating hours.

Where it slots in

VirtualSpace uses the X10 for close-range inspection deliverables and for the exterior photogrammetry that wraps a building model; the DJI Matrice 350 RTK stays the choice for wide-area mapping and LiDAR. For a property owner that means a single Virtual Space where a roof defect, the interior tour and the site plan all live in one link.