Could inspections of electrical power lines, gas pipelines and railways be done by airships? This is what the startup HyLight is proposing with its HyLighter, a drone airship unveiled last April at the Change Now 2025 expo in Paris. This silent, low-carbon machine can fly slowly (and hover) for hundreds of kilometres and is equipped with some of the most precise sensors available to gather photos and videos in the visible and infrared spectrums, along with LiDAR point clouds. Inspections of critical infrastructure are still mostly performed using planes and helicopters, which consume far more energy. HyLight is supported by Leonard, the VINCI Group’s future-oriented innovation and acceleration platform, through its SEED 2025 programme.
01/15/2026
