EdgeRaptor

Tank inspection evidence, linked at the point of work.

External tank inspection means costly access at height and evidence that comes back in pieces. EdgeRaptor puts a pole camera, thermal imager and voice capture on one field rig, binding every observation to its place on the tank as it is recorded, so the record leaves site complete, reviewable and structured for hand-off to integrity systems.

Designed around external inspection of aboveground storage tanks to API 653.

See the field test
Inspector in hi-vis and hard hat holding the EdgeRaptor pole camera and tablet
The integrated field rig, September 2026

Access is expensive. Evidence comes back in pieces.

  • Reaching the shell at height needs rope teams, platforms or scaffolding, and rope-access technicians work with both hands occupied.
  • Photographs, video, thermal images and notes are captured separately, and the context that links them is rebuilt at the desk.
  • A missing or unclear view is often found only afterwards, and can mean another access visit.
Two storage tanks with grass and shrubs growing against the base and chime, and pipework at ground level
Vegetation along the base and chime
Close view of a tank shell with a horizontal weld seam and wrapped pipework entering the bottom course
Nozzles and pipework at the bottom course
A row of tanks under an elevated steel walkway and pipe rack
Walkways and pipe racks at height
A single tank with rust staining on its upper courses and a steel stair to the roof
Rust staining on the upper courses

From field research on working tank sites in Texas, which shaped the design. The end-to-end rig test below ran on disused gasholders in southern England.

Conventional record: a camera roll of loose tank media, an unsorted folder of files and a report draft full of gaps, matched by hand at the desk.
TodayLoose files, matched by hand at the desk
Linked record: one row per tank area, each binding photos, video and thermal images to the inspector's spoken observation, with a status for each.
With EdgeRaptorOne record per observation, linked on site

Illustration using real tank inspection media. Select an image to open it full size.

How EdgeRaptor works

  1. Integrated capture rig

    A pole-mounted industrial camera reaching about 10 metres, a thermal imager, tablet, portable power and 5G connectivity, carried by one inspector.

  2. Bound at acquisition

    The inspector speaks each observation against the part of the tank it concerns: shell course, weld, nozzle, chime or foundation. Voice comes first, because hands are busy.

  3. AI evidence review on site

    Vision-language AI reviews the evidence before the inspector leaves, proposes observable conditions and flags missing views. When the evidence is not good enough, it asks for another capture instead of guessing.

  4. Structured output

    Observations and the evidence behind them leave site as one structured record, designed to feed existing integrity and reporting systems.

  • Pole pass from grade: bottom courses and chime, up to about 10 metres
  • Rope access, targeted at the zones that need it

Ground first. Rope access where it counts.

A pole pass from grade covers the bottom courses and the chime, where external findings commonly cluster. What it records shows where the rope team is needed, so time at height goes where it counts.

Every view from the pole lands in the same record as the rope team's evidence, bound to the same course, weld or nozzle.

Tested end to end in the field

25 September 2026 · disused steel gasholders at a former gasworks site, southern England

  • Pole-camera video captured straight into the evidence record
  • Four inspection groups across five capture modalities
  • Observations tied to named asset components and their evidence
  • Vision-language AI evidence review returned while on site
  • Structured asset-level record assembled, with AI-assisted summaries

Technology Readiness Level 4 for the tank application. The test proved the integrated capture and evidence workflow on representative steel structures. An operational trial on a tank in service, with inspection practitioners, would be the next step.

Built to support the inspector

  • Supports judgement, does not replace it

    EdgeRaptor records observable conditions. Fitness for service, remaining life and structural integrity stay with the qualified inspector.

  • One evidence model, several standards

    The architecture is standards-neutral, designed to support API 653 and EEMUA 159 external inspection.

  • Safety and site requirements

    The rig in its current form is not certified for use in hazardous areas. Any use on a live site would follow that site's own permits and safety rules.