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Prenav is a company that leverages drones, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), 3D analytics, and deep learning to automate the inspection of critical infrastructure such as bridges, dams, cell towers, and even nuclear reactors. Their technology involves precision-guided drones capable of automated flight in close proximity to structures or indoors, enabling highly accurate inspections.

Prenav's system comprises two key components: a proprietary drone platform and a ground station equipped with a laser scanner. The ground station performs an initial laser scan of the structure to be inspected, generating a 3D point cloud and preparing the drone's flight path around it. The drone is then launched and controlled in space by the ground station's tracking and positioning tools, communicating at a high frequency of 100 times per second, ensuring centimeter-level positioning accuracy.

This advanced guidance system allows Prenav's drones to fly with extraordinary precision, enabling them to capture detailed photographs of nuts, bolts, labels, fault points, and other intricate components that would otherwise require direct human inspection. The final output is a high-resolution 3D render incorporating these details, facilitating comprehensive inspections.

Prenav's technology addresses a significant challenge in the aging infrastructure sector, where traditional inspection methods involving climbers on ropes or scaffolding are slow, expensive, and dangerous. As of 2017, Prenav's solutions were actively being utilized for inspecting mobile phone towers and energy infrastructure in the US. In October 2017, Prenav completed the first-ever automated drone flights inside a functional nuclear reactor.