[IMC 2023] Space Level AI For Monitoring Power Lines

By Prof. Dr. Rezah Arghandeh, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Power lines span vast distances, traversing forests, varied terrains, and cities, acting as vital conduits for delivering energy to our homes. However, their interaction with vegetation poses significant challenges in terms of safety, economy, and the environment. Vegetation-related issues are responsible for frequent power outages, road closures, and substantial economic losses running into billions of Euros annually. Incidents of wildfires triggered by power lines and disruptions caused by fallen trees are unfortunately becoming the new normal. In recent years, the cost of satellite launches has experienced a remarkable decline, resulting in a surge of satellites orbiting our planet. This expansion led to increased availability of high-resolution images with frequent revisiting capabilities, both on a daily and sub-daily basis, covering most regions across the globe. This ongoing satellite data revolution, accompanied by the rapid progress in computer vision and AI, presents a unique opportunity to combine scale, frequency, and cost efficiency to enhance vegetation monitoring around massive infrastructure lines. In this talk, we will delve into our research activities and present exemplary projects that showcase the power of Space-Level AI for Monitoring Infrastructure Networks.