A Review of AiDash: Software for Vegetation Management
Utility downtime can be both nerve-wracking and annoying. Not to mention costly. But imagine a world where utility infrastructure is almost as reliable as a punctual mail carrier or your morning coffee.
AiDash promises to eliminate infrastructure hiccups and significantly reduce carbon emissions with its cutting-edge AI and satellite imagery. This company aims to redefine the infrastructure world with technology that can spot encroachments and reduce vegetation-related outages. Translate this to cost saving, and you’ll understand the need to review AiDash’s services and functionality thoroughly.
Read on to get an overview of AiDash, discover its features and integrations, and explore its plan and pricing. At the end of this read, you will have adequate information to decide if AiDash is the solution to optimizing and maintaining your utility infrastructure.
AiDash Overview
AiDash strives to create a green, clean, and safe planet with AI-powered software solutions for managing and monitoring utility infrastructures. The company promises to reduce vegetation management expenses by 20%. It further aims to decrease land and air sustainability costs by 70% and help you apply a risk-based approach to utility management.
Considering its core objectives of maintaining a more sustainable environment, AiDash finds relevance in several industries, including transportation, gas and electricity utility, mining, and energy.
AiDash was founded in 2019 by three serial entrepreneurs: Abhishek Singh, Rahul Saxena, and Nitin Das. The idea was sparked by the California campfire wildfire of November 2018. It started as a discussion about the destruction and a review of satellite images of the damage extent. Then, the realization that better information can help mitigate threats from vegetation and wildfires set in.
The company’s first market and focus was vegetation management because it’s a known trigger for fires. AiDash founders thoroughly understood the extent of the industry’s problem even when investors didn’t, and they ran the company for 20 months without external funding.
Fast forward to summer 2022, AiDash is deployed in more than 90 countries and is spread across over 500,000 distribution and transmission line miles. The software’s portfolio now includes climate risk intelligence systems (CRIS), integrity and encroachment management systems (IEMS), and intelligent sustainability management systems (ISMS). This is in addition to the existing intelligent vegetation management system (IVMS)
AiDash has raised over $33M in capital to assist different industries with sustainability, resilience, and efficiency through AI and satellites. The company is backed by corporate venture arms and climate tech venture investors.
Firmly established as a top climate technology company, AIDash’s technology is designed to improve grid reliability and reduce vegetation expenses. It also aims to save resources by reducing air and land sustainability costs. A benefit of this software is the quick restoration of power after extreme storms.
- Founders: Abhishek Singh, Rahul Saxena, and Nitin Das
- Established: 2019
- Company: Silicon Valley; USA, Washington DC; USA, Bengalaru; India, Austin; USA, London; UK, Gurugram; India
5 Reasons AiDash Stands Out
Expert Opinion
Rating: 4.5/5
AiDash is a relatively new software with about four years of active operation. Our view of the company’s overall performance impressed us with its strides toward achieving a safer earth.
We also recognize the company’s efforts to educate people on more efficient and sustainable methods for managing geographical assets. It provides videos, blogs, podcasts, and webinars. The simple interface further helps users leverage the software’s numerous capabilities seamlessly.
One major drawback, however, is its limited user community. So far, the software has around 90 customers. Newer businesses interested in using the service may need to book a demo session to understand better how the software can work in their specific use cases.
Regarding its operational model, we enjoyed using case-specific AI models. Meaning each company can get a solution unique to their specific need. One business in the oil and gas industry can be more determined to discover new oil reserves, while another may emphasize ensuring minimal environmental impact.
Security-wise, AiDash provides an excellent block against likely breaches. In addition, it provides a dedicated team that ensures users have little to no hitches while they interface with data on the company’s cloud systems. We also appreciate the freedom the API gives businesses to integrate into their existing systems and customize the features.
With not-so-many climate-specific products out there, AiDash is making a significant difference, helping large businesses maintain excellent climate culture. Considering that SMEs make up the larger percentage of companies, we hope to see AiDash provide more products specific to small and medium-sized companies in the near future.
AiDash Notable Features
AiDash provides several notable features working together to provide the best experience to users. This section delves into these features and discusses how they can help your business
1. Intelligent vegetation management system (IVMS)
This feature is helpful in planning, optimizing, and executing vegetation management. With efficient satellite and AI technology, you can find vegetation risks in real-time before any damage to your grid. You can also optimize your vegetation management program in advance and improve the efficiency of trim inspections.
Intelligent vegetation management system uses pre-trained AI models, information from satellites, and historical data to perform its functions. Its analysis allows you to see the vegetation conditions of your entire network in detail. Thanks to its 360-degree view, you can get a complete picture of transmission and distribution right of way (ROW) with high accuracy.
Picking insights from the analysis, you can get novel perspectives on ROW risks and routine prune programs. Identifying, predicting, and monitoring your ROWs for correct bid packets is more accessible with AIDash’s IVMS. This is key to optimizing cycle trimming, as you can make pruning plans after considering utility constraints, like budget.
With this product, you can mitigate current and future risks by identifying threats within and outside the ROW. You also enjoy other benefits like classifying wildfire risk areas and monitoring tree health.
2. Intelligent sustainability management system (ISMS)
With AIDash’s ISMS product, you can eliminate guesswork from measurements and net gain planning for carbon offsets and biodiversity. This tool allows you to quantify diversity, carbon, and natural capital metrics. It also aids documentation, as you can analyze baseline information in a couple of days. With this, you can quickly track your initiatives on one platform.
You can leverage this feature to track your carbon footprint, manage multiple sources, including IoT, and contribute to the movement of cleaner and greener earth. This is possible thanks to satellite imagery and AI-powered technology that helps you plan and track your sustainability management. You can gain data from large areas, even inaccessible ones, and increase accuracy by taking out human subjectivity and error.
ISMS can also help you unlock your land’s environmental value by saving a significant percentage on carbon offset plans. You can capture carbon for a net-zero commitment using your land. This is a safe way to eliminate risks of price increases in carbon offset.
You can automate ecological surveys and keep track of ecologies using AIDash’s ISMS. The evaluation of land carbon stocks and natural capital is made accessible through this feature. Using high-resolution imaging, you can easily assess land classification to track biodiversity net gain.
ISMS provides a way to validate the permanence and additionality of carbon credits. Now, you can leverage this feature to protect your organization’s reputation and confirm the legitimacy of your carbon credits. You can also offset emissions by buying carbon credits from third-party providers
3. Climate risk intelligence system (CRIS)
This feature is designed for climate risk, pre-event and post-event. With this tool, you can forecast wildfire outages and storms and make plans to restore safety quickly. Building climate resilience by predicting outages with reliable information, even 72 hours before landfall, is possible with this tool.
In an emergency, you can safely access damages to prioritize your response. In one platform, you can track weather parameters, identify damage-prone areas, and prioritize logistics and resources. You can make this prediction at span, segment, and feeder levels.
Disaster restoration and recovery efforts are also accelerated, as you can leverage this feature to measure flood extents and assess wildfire burn severity. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) allows you to assess damages even in darkness and through clouds. You can record field observations and assessments with a mobile application for photos, notes, and comments.
Historical data from similar storms and events can be used to evaluate an active storm’s impact. This is also instrumental in future forecasts and predictions. It’s also worth noting that you can export these dashboards and reports in different formats.
4. Integrity and encroachment management system
AIDash’s IEMS allows you to identify and prioritize system tasks by conducting satellite-based patrolling. This fosters operational improvements, as you can use detailed metrics and scores to automate and prioritize inspections and work. With this product, you get a clear picture of pipeline systems with high accuracy.
The IEMS uses AI and satellites to pinpoint gas leaks, integrity risks, and encroachments in almost real-time. You can also make data-driven decisions by analyzing image history and inputs with pre-trained AI models. What’s even more? You can detect pipeline damage and gas leaks by leveraging aerial pipeline surveys.
According to your specifications, this feature allows you to identify different encroachment types. You can explore detailed attributes like the size and distance from the center line. This is a strategy for mitigating risks, as you can give context and full site history to your field teams to investigate and report.
AiDash Integrations
The AiDash software is designed to integrate seamlessly with different third-party applications you’re using to streamline workflow and increase productivity. This makes it easy to synchronize data across systems. It supports the transformation of crucial data into actionable insights through a unified view.
AiDash also offers integrations with other industry-standard systems and software to enhance its functionality. These integrations include enterprise asset management (EAM) and geographic information systems (GIS). The software functions properly with data management and visualization tools commonly used in the infrastructure and utility management sector.
The software also offers secure and complete REST APIs for integrating with existing systems and automation purposes. This comes with enterprise-level security and is also manageable in various customer environments. These quality APIs allow you to get custom reports, build connections, and redesign features
AiDash Pricing and Plans
AiDash does not have publicly available pricing information on its website, but you can always contact the sales team. To do this, you can chat with the AI bot, Satellite Scott, on their website. You’d be asked to give your name, after which you would be provided two options: read case studies or talk to an expert.
You can choose to talk to an agent and schedule a meeting with a representative. It is worth noting that you cannot have the meeting on the same day you scheduled it. The earliest available time is the next day.
Plans and pricing will be provided according to your business needs during or after the meeting. This is because AiDash prefers to provide customized quotes based on your exact business needs.
AiDash Terms and Policies
AiDash terms of use document clearly define users’ rights to data control, correction, and complaint resolution, while the privacy policy underscores their commitment to user data privacy. When visiting their website or using their mobile app, you can expect the company to routinely collect data, such as Log data, IP addresses, and browsing history.
For the mobile app, personal information is solicited solely when essential for service provision, with full disclosure and consent. The policy assures users that they will handle personal data, including names, emails, and social profiles, with care and not disclosed without legal necessity.
AiDash uses the data collected for several legitimate purposes, including customization, contact, research, and compliance with legal obligations.
Customer Support
AiDash provides numerous channels for contacting a customer support agent. First, you can submit a ticket and share your questions, challenges, or opinions with a customer service agent.
For those curious about the product and how it can work for their business, AiDash lets you get a first-hand tour of the software when you book a demo session. You can request a demo by filling out an online form. Information the company requires includes your name, work email address, and position.
There is also the chatbot that helps you attend to customers round-the-clock. Alternatively, you can visit any of the company’s offices across the US, UK, and India.
Headquarters
Address:
3031 Tisch Way Suite 110, Plaza West
San Jose, CA 95128
United States
Phone: +1 408-703-1099
US Offices:
Address 1
1900 Reston Metro Plaza
6th Floor
Reston, VA 20190
United States
Address 2
201 W 5th Street
11th Floor, Office #38
Austin, TX 78701
United States
Phone: +1 408-703-1099
UK Office:
Address
Suite 215, Mappin House
4 Winsley Street
London W1W 8HF
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 204-540-1161
Indian offices:
Address 1
5th Floor, Tower-A, Cyber Greens,
DLF Cyber City, Phase-3, Sector-24,
Gurugram, Haryana 122022, India
Address 2
East Wing, 6th Floor, Tower-2, SJR iPark,
Rd No. 9, EPIP Zone Whitefield, Bengaluru,
Karnataka 560066, India
Phone: +91-801-086-1000
Conclusion
AIDash, through its adept fusion of artificial intelligence and satellite technology, addresses critical challenges faced by the utility sector. From mitigating vegetation-related outages to optimizing maintenance processes, AiDash’s impact doesn’t go unnoticed.
