Switzerland’s BKW Energie to digitise grid inspections transmission tower sketch with high voltage on blue sky.

BKW Energie AG, operator of Switzerland’s largest distribution system, has announced a five year programme partnership with eSmart Systems to transition their visual grid inspections to a complete image-based virtual inspection process.

The inspections programme will focus on the distribution grid with a focus on wood, steel and concrete structures.

It will utilise eSmart Systems’ Grid Vision solution – utilised as a Software as a Service and powered by AI to support the high voltage distribution grid with inspection and maintenance.

The partnership aims to optimise costs and provide safer, more accurate and efficient visual inspections.

BKW will use the solution, which consists of over 40 AI models trained on over 15 million global images, to automate their virtual inspections to improve the quality and speed of inspections.

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The partnership will enable BKW Energie to transition its inspection processes to condition-based asset maintenance over time with the use of Grid Vision Insight.

“We are delighted to partner with BKW Energie and our technology will support their vision of running a more sustainable and resilient power grid,” stated Henrik Bache, CEO of eSmart Systems.

Martin Rieder, head of asset information management at BKW Energie, added:

“Our ambition is to become a distribution system operator managing a highly efficient power grid, transforming our inspection process is getting us one step closer to our digitalisation journey and enabling us to obtain accurate and reliable asset data that can be utilised for key decision making.”