Distance Reveals the Big Picture: AgroTech Avia Is Building a Simulator for Virtual Construction Site Flyovers
An interactive software module is being developed for Gazprom Invest LLC. Russian operators will use an accurate 3D replica of a facility to identify violations at construction sites.
The cost of a mistake can be extremely high when training professionals to work at hazardous industrial facilities. That is why every advance in professional training matters. And that is why AgroTech Avia is beginning development of a specialized simulator for Gazprom Invest.
The solution is built around a 1:1-scale digital twin of a comprehensive gas treatment unit (CGTU). Engineering 3D models, site master plans and orthophoto maps are loaded into the virtual environment. The user performs a virtual flyover of the facility, looking for safety violations – whether it is working at height without fall protection, improper use of personal protective equipment, or violations during hot work and excavation.
May There Always Be Sunshine
The system records every deviation detected and automatically evaluates the user’s performance in the scenario before generating a detailed report. Two modes are available. In training mode, users can simply explore the facility, while exam mode imposes a time limit and subjects the result to strict evaluation.
The module is planned to be adapted for the Russian operating systems Astra Linux, RED OS and Calculate Linux. AgroTechSim itself is registered as Russian software, with the foreign-developed Unreal Engine 5 used only for visualization.
AgroTech Avia, incidentally, is not limiting itself to the oil and gas industry. In January 2026, the company announced the start of cooperation with Rosseti PJSC. A power-line inspection mission was added to the simulator, covering the operator’s complete workflow. It includes flying along the power-line route, identifying defects in towers and conductors, photographing violations, post-processing the collected material and automatically evaluating the quality of task performance.
Meanwhile, AgroTechSim is already being used to train agricultural drone operators through the Digital Personnel Registry for UAS, or unmanned aircraft systems, created under the federal Kadry dlya BAS (Personnel for UAS) project. The platform offers different drone models and different types of missions – from basic piloting to complex scenarios that involve selecting cameras and thermal imagers and even adjusting the weather: turn off the rain, turn on the sun.
More Than 80 Missions to Complete
Gazprom began its digitalization effort by developing its Digital Transformation Strategy for 2022–2026. At its core are the creation of a Unified Data Model and digital twins of production facilities. These virtual replicas reproduce the characteristics of their real-world counterparts to predict how they will perform under different conditions. Importantly, Russian solutions are given priority.
In 2023, Gazprom Invest brought UAVs directly into construction oversight. Its Aeromonitoring system made it possible to use AI to identify industrial safety violations. At the company’s Project Management Center, representatives of Rostrud, Russia’s federal labor authority, were shown how drones can help remotely monitor construction progress and verify compliance with design specifications.
Back in 2025, AgroTech Avia reached a new stage and its AgroTechSim simulator was added to the Digital Personnel Registry for UAS. “The agricultural sector accounts for the greatest demand for professionals in the unmanned aviation industry. We see significant potential here, so we have expanded our registry, which is an entire ecosystem for developing workforce capabilities, with AgroTech Avia’s AgroTechSim simulator. It allows participants in the Digital Registry to learn how to operate agricultural drones with realistic flight physics. The simulator offers more than 10 drone models and over 80 different types of missions,” Andrey Veldyaev, deputy director of University 2035’s UAS Competence Center, explained at the time.
This year brought the announced project with Rosseti for power-line inspections, followed by the contract with Gazprom Invest. AgroTech Avia is also looking toward education. In April this year, the company presented a simulator for school education at the 16th St. Petersburg International Educational Forum.
Measure a Hundred Times, Risk Nothing
Any customer can adapt AgroTechSimPro to its own needs. Specialized UAV models, terrain maps, scenarios and missions can be added, along with industry-specific logic for evaluating results. That is the project’s core value. It brings several technologies together in a single workflow. Digital twins, 3D models, geospatial data, UAV simulation, automated evaluation of actions and report generation all contribute to the outcome.
Professionals will be able to practice detecting violations repeatedly without putting real facilities at risk, while the system objectively evaluates every action. All it takes is a virtual flight.
