GreenBee: Agmis, Thrust, and Kelių Priežiūra Launch AI-Powered Drone System for Smarter, Greener Road Inspection
Using AI to Shape the Future of Road Inspection
AB Kelių priežiūra, the Lithuanian state-owned company responsible for maintaining over 21,000 km of national roads, has partnered with technology companies Agmis and Thrust to introduce GreenBee, an AI-powered, drone-based inspection platform that aims to transform how roads are monitored and maintained.
This pioneering initiative seeks to improve the efficiency, scope, and environmental footprint of road inspections by replacing traditional inspection vehicles with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Currently, inspections are carried out manually by slow-moving specialist vehicles, consuming time, labor, and emitting tons of CO₂ each year.
“By using drones for initial reconnaissance and AI to analyze collected data, we can quickly identify potential issues across large areas and dispatch teams only where human intervention is truly needed. We estimate that the shift to UAVs can reduce CO₂ emissions from inspection activity by up to 90%, while also improving resource allocation.”
From Road Miles to Air Miles: How GreenBee Works
The GreenBee system combines:
- Autonomous drones, developed by Thrust, equipped with high-resolution cameras and multi-modal sensors.
- AI-powered video and sensor data analysis, developed by Agmis, using Computer Vision to detect road surface defects, cracks, deformations, and other risk indicators.
Instead of manually covering thousands of kilometers, drones fly along planned inspection routes, capturing consistent, high-quality visual data. This footage is then processed by AI algorithms to pinpoint trouble spots, enabling maintenance teams to respond faster and more accurately.
“We estimate that traditional EU road inspection requires 93.7 million kilometers driven and 3.1 million man-hours per year, emitting up to 37,500 tons of CO₂”
Agmis Brings Scalable AI Analysis to Infrastructure Inspection
Agmis brings years of expertise in AI video analytics and Computer Vision development to the GreenBee initiative. The company has developed inspection solutions across retail, industrial, and aerodiagnostics sectors including tools for solar farm diagnostics, wind turbine inspection, powerline monitoring, and now, national road networks.
“AI video analysis is a game-changer in infrastructure, it scales where manual inspection can’t. It standardizes decision-making, eliminates human error, and reduces both cost and time spent in the field.”
The GreenBee consortium has successfully applied for funding under the RIMA (Robotics for Infrastructure and Maintenance) acceleration programme, a European initiative that supports innovation in automated inspection and maintenance of critical infrastructure. With this backing, the GreenBee team is set to scale its platform, test across broader regions, and potentially set a new European standard for road infrastructure diagnostics.