ComEd Utilizes Drones for Damage Assessment and Situational Awareness
ComEd’s Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) program is at the forefront of autonomy, technology, and innovation in the utility sector. The UAS program boasts a drone fleet exceeding 75 aircraft and 51 pilots, utilizing cutting-edge processes for damage assessment and enhanced situational awareness. Proactive strategies, like pre-emptive substation snow clearing, are also employed. Beyond operational benefits, the UAS initiative promotes community engagement through educational outreach, offering students interactive drone experiences to inspire interest in STEM fields. This pioneering program, which won Chartwell’s Gold Best Practices Award in Outage Operations this year, showcases the potential of utility drone operations today.
Speaker: Victor Migliore, Senior Engineering Technology Specialist, ComEd
Victor Migliore joined the ComEd team in 2023 and has over a decade of aeronautical and autonomous vehicle experience. His prior roles include working as a flight operations engineer developing cargo drones and as a UAS pilot for Google’s Wing Aviation in 2019
With a maintenance background in the US Army, Victor has both experience in manned and unmanned aircraft development and operations. He recently completed his M.S. at Purdue University in Aviation Management & Economics.
Some highlights of his career include collecting archeological data on indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest using drones, instructing drone pilots overseas, and at one point having the US record for most drone deliveries in one day as a pilot for Google’s unmanned aircraft program.
As the Chief UAS Pilot for the ComEd team, Victor leads the training of new drone pilots, provides oversight of drone purchasing, and supports flight missions and oversight of the UAS Program. This includes ComEd’s Skydio Drock, a drone in a box system capable of multi-role missions within the Emergency Preparedness team.
