Category
Advanced Utility Operation
Improve asset management, supply chain resilience, safety and operational efficiency using sensors, robotics and other advanced technologies.
This challenge can be addressed through a range of solutions, with some technology areas of interest outlined below.
1
Advanced manufacturing to reduce leadtime for replacement parts.
2
Improve safety, efficiency, and/or cost-effectiveness of utility operations and business processes.
3
Advanced real-time monitoring and inspection tools such as drones.
4
Other tools for customer insights, rates, and pricing. 
5
Natural language processing for customer interactions.
6
Automated recognition and prioritization of vegetation management tasks based on potential risk and impact on power lines.
7
Anomaly detection and predictive maintenance using sensor data and robotics. 
8
Reinforcement learning for task optimization. 
9
Robotics to perform complex tasks or assisting tasks such as in-home energy audits, meter installation and upgrades.
10
Novel sensors, non-destructive examination techniques such as miniaturized robotics for real-time and remote inspections, novel welding repair techniques.
11
Evaluate risks associated with proposed, existing, and/or aging assets.
12
Assessment and integration of new and emerging technologies.
13
Upskill utility workers to operate and maintain evolving grid infrastructure, including renewable technologies and autonomous energy systems.
14
Virtual and augmented reality simulations to safely train utility workers on complex grid operations and maintenance tasks.
15
Autonomous kiosks for billing and service inquiries. 
16
Safety culture enhancement.
17
Circular economy solutions.
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