OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Oak Ridge National Laboratory showcased a new system to help government and industry leaders coordinate better after an emergency on Mondy.
The system uses drones and a type of software that detects and geolocates damaged utility poles after events like hurricanes or tornadoes. That data is fed into the EAGLE-I platform, which helps leaders monitor the energy infrastructure in an area and reports outages.
The platform can also display possible threats to the energy infrastructure, helping leaders better prepare and recover from emergencies.
The system was built using machine learning algorithms and hardware to image damaged utility poles. Data collected from that system is updated to a central processing hub — the EAGLE-I platform.
The drones can also be used to prevent fires from starting if a utility pole is damaged. They can help crews find poles faster, helping them respond quickly before something catches on fire.
"This pole detection project is just our first step into ‘AI on the edge,’” said David Hughes in a release, the project's principal investigator. “Our intent is to expand into multiple observables — substations, for example — and be able to classify them as damaged or undamaged infrastructure.”