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Macomb County highlights AI-powered sewer drone program, says early use cut inspection costs
Summary
County Public Works presented an in-house sewer inspection program that combines Flybotics drones, a custom ‘GoFlow’ buoy, LIDAR scans and Sewer AI software; presenters said the technology sped reporting from months to days and produced about $4 million in avoided work in the program's first year.
Macomb County Public Works demonstrated an in-house sewer inspection program using aerial/underground drones, LIDAR and cloud-based “Sewer AI” software, saying the technology gives higher-resolution footage, faster review and significant cost savings.
Public Works staff showed commissioners a Flybotics inspection drone and a county-built flotation camera the department calls “GoFlow,” and described a workflow that ingests 4K video and point-cloud LIDAR scans into a cloud AI package for automated defect coding. “Literally, in about 24 to 48 hours, we've got everything, and it's better,” said Vince Astorino, a Public Works presenter. Astorino told commissioners the county used that data to avoid an immediate $4 million rehabilitation in the first months after the program began.
The presentation explained the inspection schedule and equipment capabilities. Capt. Zach (staff drone operator) demonstrated the drone’s footage and the department showed side‑by‑side comparisons with older CCTV inspection video. The drone’s lighting, higher vantage point and LIDAR allowed staff to detect small cracks and manufacturing defects that earlier footage had missed. Astorino said the drone chosen has about a 20‑minute flight time and a protective cage to withstand contact with pipe walls; Flybotics was named as the drone vendor.
Staff also described the GoFlow device — a buoy-like rig with a 360° GoPro that travels with the sewer flow — as an alternative for larger-flow pipes where flying a drone is unsafe. The GoFlow produces 360° footage that can be paused and examined at any angle, staff said, and includes a self-righting feature developed by county engineers.
The county explained how it uses Sewer AI, a cloud program that ingests video, applies national defect-coding standards, and flags defects for staff verification. “Every single time that we did it, the AI found more defects than the contractor found,” Astorino said; staff then verify the AI coding. Commissioners were shown how the system integrates with GIS and can compare historic footage year‑to‑year.
Commissioners asked operational and policy questions. Commissioner Halbert noted community interest in a “Macomb Public Works Academy” and encouraged the county to promote the academy as a public outreach tool; Astorino confirmed the academy offers a short video series and certificates for participants. Commissioner Romano asked whether short “sleeve” repairs or longer tunnel sleeves could be used; Astorino said both small localized repairs and full-section sleeves are options depending on the pipe condition. Commissioner Grama asked whether a license is required to ‘fly’ the drone underground; Astorino said the team receives advanced training from the vendor but that the answer to whether a traditional license is needed is “no.”
Presenters emphasized time and cost savings. Astorino contrasted prior inspection timelines of six to nine months to the present 24–48 hour turnaround for analyzed footage, and cited historical inspection budget numbers: roughly $1.0 million for 97,000 feet in 2017, $885,000 in 2020 for 44,000 feet, and $995,000 in 2023 for 26,000 feet. Using in‑house equipment and AI, staff estimated the 2026 inspection program could be performed for roughly $46,000 (county estimate provided during the presentation), a figure Astorino presented as the department’s internal estimate for conducting comparable work themselves.
Commissioners praised the initiative and asked about sharing the method with other counties; Astorino said Macomb appears to be the first county in Michigan widely using this particular drone+AI combination and that neighboring counties and industry journals have shown interest. Several commissioners also acknowledged that local contractors who previously did inspection work might object to changes in procurement and workload, but commissioners framed the change as an efficiency and public‑works improvement.
The presenters concluded with a hardware demo and said the program recently won a regional award and is being considered for national recognition by the American Public Works Association.
