A team of researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has created a prototype system for detecting and geolocating damaged utility poles in the aftermath of natural disasters such as hurricanes.

The system, which is detailed in the journal Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, is designed to run on edge computing hardware mounted on a quadcopter or other uncrewed aerial vehicle, allowing it to function when local infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.

The team from ORNL’s Geospatial Science and Human Security Division used machine learning algorithms and onboard imaging hardware to accurately detect and assess damage to utility poles while uploading location information to a central processing hub, called the Environment for Analysis of Geo-Located Energy Information, or EAGLE-I™. This information can be relayed to utility companies, first responders or other groups supporting energy infrastructure.