FT. WORTH, Texas – The need for clear, detailed surface imagery in planning infrastructure has rendered standard satellite surface data obsolete. Aerial imagery pioneers Hunter Herren and Josh Vinyard announce the opening of Prius Intelli (First to Understand) to meet that need for companies in oil and gas, railroads, utilities, construction, finance and many other sectors.
The company uses highly advanced, custom-made cameras capable of capturing visual images down to 4 inches, allowing object recognition of equipment, surface elevations and even plant life. Additionally, thermal imagery can pinpoint leaks from pipelines, orphaned wells and other sources that would cost much more to find through ground-based procedures. This type of environmental assessment is becoming crucial in EHS (Environmental, Health and Safety) increasingly required by regulators and good governance.
“This is the highest quality surface imagery possible,” says Herren. “And by using piloted aircraft covering large areas in a short time, we can offer this for a surprisingly affordable price.”
“With this, an E&P company can pinpoint well pad placement based on digital elevation models without the time and expense of sending a crew to survey and report back,” he continued.
To provide the best imagery at an affordable price, the company decided to overcome the distance and elevation limitations of drone photography by using a piloted fixed-wing aircraft to cover large areas. It flies several hours each day, depending on the weather and the season.
The company offers fast delivery of needed survey information such as GIS Basemaps, orthoimagery and more, collecting images and returning the finished product to clients within 10 days.
With their experience in aerial photography and drones, Vinyard and Herren saw that standard methods of topographical data gathering were either too time intensive (sending a group of people to a site) or lacking in detail (satellite imagery) to give value in the current market—even before the Coronavirus lockdown. They saw an opportunity to provide data and value to a long list of industries.
Prius Intelli is a Fort Worth-based company, working primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana. With orders skyrocketing, the company plans expansion into other parts of the United States in the next twelve months.
