Project snapshot

Through our innovative ‘VICAP’ project we’ve fully automated the way we capture and process corrosion-related condition assessment data for the steelwork on our pylons.

We’ve developed an automated process that uses autonomous drones flown ‘beyond visual line of sight’ (BVLOS). These gather high-definition close-up images of pylons, which are then processed using artificial intelligence (AI) to show us the health of the steelwork.  

By using drones and AI technology, we can collect better data at lower cost – and with much less environmental impact than our current approach. It also frees up valuable time for our teams, who typically have to manually assess many thousands of infrastructure images.

Background

NGET owns 21,900 steel lattice pylons in England and Wales, which need regular inspection for corrosion. Traditionally, we’ve capture thousands of high-definition images by helicopter or drone each year. The images have then been assessed, and any corrosion is graded manually on a scale of one to six by analysts . It’s been a time-consuming task – and where classification is marginal, there’s a risk of inconsistency.

A previous VICAP innovation project proved that drones could successfully replace helicopters for asset condition monitoring. The project also showed we could identify the presence of corrosion by using an AI model.

We then went a step further through a second VICAP project, training the AI model to automatically grade corrosion. This provided us with a much more accurate snapshot of asset health. We also fed historical data into the model so it could forecast how future corrosion is likely to develop.

Benefits for energy consumers

This innovation is helping us improve system reliability by providing a more accurate picture of asset health. And that means we can minimise outages and intervene in a timely way. It’s reducing the need for helicopter flights   and is dramatically speeding up our assessment of corrosion via automated assessment using AI models. 

We’ll also be able to forecast future corrosion with greater certainty.

Now our VICAP innovation is being adopted in our business, it’s helping us adopt efficient new asset management practices. By reducing the use of helicopters, avoiding fuel & maintenance costs, and gaining faster processing times for assessments, we anticipate savings for consumers of some £630,000 each year.

Who did we work with? 

For this project, we collaborated with deep tech start-ups Keen AI and sees.ai. Notably , sees.ai secured a UK-first permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), making them one of the very few companies worldwide with routine permission to inspect the electricity grid from BVLOS – and perhaps the only company in the world capable of enabling close quarter inspection of pylons.

Did you know…

• Autonomous drones can be operated from a central control room, with a pilot potentially overseeing multiple missions at the same time
• They can ‘map the world’ in 3D, in real time, allowing the vehicle to ‘understand’ where it is in space – avoiding collisions with other drones or stationary objects
• They have inbuilt safety features – they can cope with unforeseen and unpredictable emergency situations, returning to base or landing safely if they detect any risks
• They can continue to operate even when experiencing interference from intermittent communications.

Matti Ward, Innovation Engineer:

This is a great example of the transformative power of AI and drone technology. It has the potential to transform our asset management process, giving us valuable data that can inform our decision-making – all while saving money for consumers.