Early in 2022, we successfully completed our first high-volume collection and analysis of a towerco’s portfolio. This meant stress-testing our sensor and software in real-world scenarios across diverse teams and regions. And while we learned some lessons and discovered areas of improvement, the successful collection across hundreds of sites proved our technology will support volume.

In June, NATE hosted its inaugural UAV Expo to test and demonstrate the use of drones on tower sites. As a part of this, various hardware and software companies participated in a same-day tower data collection. The committee’s goal was to audit the drone data results and evaluate whether drones should be included in a new standard for TIA-222 inspections.

For Visual Intelligence, this expo gave us the opportunity to validate our data for a third-party organization that is trusted in the Telecom space. And while the expo wasn’t a contest per say, our collection was the only vendor data to identify all the hidden easter eggs placed on the tower, as well as provide measurements of appurtenances that were accurate to the millimeter.

Validating our datasets with an unbiased third-party is a first step to deploying collections in volume.

In September, we officially released a lightweight version of our patented MACS-3D™ dual-camera sensor system. This evolution in our drone sensor technology was years in the making, with the primary goal of increasing the payload’s compatibility with a smaller class of commercial drones. Our sensor is now recommended on the DJI M300, offering greater accessibility and flight-time worldwide.

Again, this update helps teams collect tower data in volume.

We also launched the new VI Web Portal™ for managing larger-scale portfolio collections, as well as developed our own processing services to facilitate the transformation of large tower datasets. With any deployment of drones, it’s important to keep the dataflow simple and automated. When you’re dealing with hundreds or thousands of tower sites, it can become difficult to manage data collection across unique teams that span diverse regions and tower types. The VI Web Portal helps teams dispatch, view, and manage drone operations and data processing. Additionally, in-house processing services accelerate the 3d data transformation process, especially when dealing with large amounts of information.

These tools were created to organize the collection and processing of tower at high volumes.

2022 was also a big year for Digital Twin providers and the analytics available to tower companies. For most providers, new capabilities were developed that extend analysis into Engineering domain. For example, technology partner OpenTower iQ® added new capabilities that analyze tower inventory, capacity, and simulations. Importantly, the accuracy of any 3d analysis is largely dependent on the 3d Reality Model collection by a drone sensor. For Visual Intelligence, we worked with analytics leaders to develop standard 3d tower products that could be consumed by AI engines and converted into inspection, condition, and structural reports.

More Digital Twin providers offering increasingly sophisticated analysis products mean Engineering Class drone data will be required in volume.