AiDash unveiled an end-to-end system addressing utilities' most urgent challenges in the wake of climate threats like storms and wildfires. Its new Full Stack Platform for Grid Inspection and Monitoring provides utilities with the data and insights needed for proactive, preventative maintenance to keep the grid operational, safeguard communities, and reduce costs. AiDash CEO Abhishek Singh debuted this first-of-its-kind solution at the company’s Evolve 2024 conference in New Orleans.
“In an era of super storms and wildfires, keeping the power on is more challenging than ever. Climate change, growing power demands, and the need to expand grid capacity highlight the urgent work ahead to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable power,” said Abhishek Singh, CEO of AiDash.
The Full Stack Platform for Grid Inspection and Monitoring launches as the U.S. utility landscape now includes over 7 million miles of power lines, approximately 250 million poles, a billion devices or assets, and billions of trees. Inspecting, monitoring, and maintaining this at scale is beyond human capacity. Technology adoption is the only path forward for utilities to minimize outages, reduce costs, and improve grid reliability.
“If every asset is inspected with the right remote sensing technology, at the right frequency, and problem areas are addressed quickly, utility-caused fires and outages can be drastically reduced, if not eliminated,” said Singh. “Our solution empowers utilities to be more proactive, adaptive, and resilient, leading to safer communities, better working conditions, and improved bottom lines.”
First-of-its-Kind Platform Makes Utilities More Climate Resilient
Over the past five years, AiDash has committed itself to using the latest in satellite technology and AI to respond to utility companies’ most pressing needs in the face of the unprecedented effects of climate change. The company’s new system is designed to make an even greater impact on their operations and maintenance (O&M), as AiDash’s full suite of products has been brought together in one cohesive platform.
With the AiDash Full Stack Platform for Grid Inspection and Monitoring, utilities can perform a satellite scan of their entire network to identify potential vegetation issues, pinpoint asset locations (poles and conductors), and assess road accessibility and terrain.
Based on these satellite insights and depending on use cases, budget, and criticality, utilities can then opt for ground-based LiDAR or visual inspections for road-accessible assets, aerial scans (visual/LiDAR) for broader areas, and drone scans for limited, hard-to-reach regions.
This multi-pronged approach delivers detailed, large-scale visual inspections of all assets and surrounding vegetation using a single platform. Data is consolidated, and advanced AI quickly identifies, prioritizes, and predicts issues. This enables swift, proactive actions to tackle current and future grid challenges while reducing the average cost per mile of scans. The platform also makes the grid more intelligent and ready for the energy transition.
The Full Stack Platform for Grid Inspection and Monitoring enables utilities to:
- Inspect and monitor assets and surroundings at scale and with the required frequency
- Model system and climate risks, as well as sustainability impacts
- Predict tasks and their criticality for routine and ad hoc O&M
- Apply business constraints to analyze scenarios, create and prioritize digital plans
- Execute tasks and log progress using the AiDash Field Application
- Track progress and audit completed work
"By leading with satellites and complementing them with ground-based LiDAR and on-ground patrols, we achieve what no single data source could—and do it more cost-effectively. Sharing data between our vegetation management and asset management teams improves coordination, enhancing reliability for our customers," said Bert Stewart, Manager of Vegetation Strategy at National Grid.
Securing Tomorrow Together
The Full Stack Platform for Grid Inspection and Monitoring marks the next stage of AiDash’s growth in transforming how utilities protect and maintain their assets. To achieve its mission of making critical infrastructure more adaptive and climate-resilient, AiDash is collaborating with all entities involved, such as utilities, regulators, and partners, including consulting firms, system integrators, and technology and data partners. The company plans to expand this ecosystem, recognizing that climate challenges are too large for any single company—collaborative solutions are essential.
