Drones fitted with high-resolution and thermal cameras; the benefit is rapid, low-cost, close-range inspection of assets that are otherwise inaccessible, without placing crews at height or in hazardous terrain

Satellite imagery combined with big data analytics; the benefit is wide-area coverage with no site visits at all, but the resolution available is generally insufficient to detect the fine cracks, corrosion and connector hotspots that inspection is meant to find

IoT sensors permanently fitted to each pylon; the benefit is continuous condition monitoring rather than periodic inspection, but installing and maintaining powered sensors on hundreds of kilometres of remote structures requires exactly the dangerous, costly physical access the utility is trying to avoid

Autonomous ground vehicles carrying inspection equipment; the benefit is that no crew is exposed to danger, but roadless mountainous terrain and elevated spans place most of the assets beyond the reach of any ground-based platform