Looq AI Unveils qPole for Smarter Engineering Choices and Dependable Grid Modeling

Looq AI Unveils qPole for Smarter Engineering Choices and Dependable Grid Modeling

On February 3, 2026, Cleantech San Diego member and Southern California Vitality Innovation Community firm Looq AI, a worldwide chief in geophysical reasoning, introduced the launch of qPole. The AI-enabled resolution is designed to make the ability grid extra dependable and resilient by coaching AI fashions to grasp utility poles the identical approach skilled engineers do, primarily based on bodily construction, geometry, supplies, and real-world context.

The U.S. energy grid consists of an estimated 180–200 million distribution poles—some growing older, some in areas the place excessive climate circumstances exist. Utilities face rising strain to adjust to state mandates for wildfire danger discount and storm hardening. Correct pole information has turn into a crucial basis for grid reliability. But it’s nonetheless largely collected and processed utilizing a sluggish, guide, and inconsistent workflow. Presently, 1000’s of utility contract corporations work across the clock to finish detailed Pole Load Evaluation (PLA).

Geophysical reasoning is a method to perceive bodily objects, similar to poles, in each 2D and 3D, recognizing their location on the earth and the context of their environment. “We’ve skilled the pc to have a look at a set of photographs and perceive the pole’s DNA—its peak, diameter, materials,” mentioned Dominique Meyer, CEO of Looq AI. “It additionally detects crucial parts like crossarms and transformers—simply as an skilled engineer would.” This understanding permits the system to generate an engineering-ready illustration of every pole, fairly than only a assortment of measurements.

Area to Workplace: A Transformative Pole Modeling Workflow

At the moment, capturing pole data is time-intensive and sometimes hazardous. Crews depend on guide fielding, hot-sticking, or image-based seize to gather pole heights and pole attachments, typically navigating troublesome terrain, excessive climate, and native wildlife, together with snakes. Area seize alone takes roughly quarter-hour per pole. Looq streamlines this course of, lowering fieldwork to roughly two minutes per pole via a safer, dependable, and repeatable workflow.

“Looq’s AI makes use of this human-like understanding to create a blueprint of a CAD mannequin for every pole,” Meyer mentioned. “It captures the information crucial to judge asset well being, identifies present or potential future failures, and clearly communicates the trail to remediation.”

Past the sector, back-office processing beforehand added one other quarter-hour per pole, as engineers manually validate information earlier than utilizing PLA instruments like SPIDAcalc, O-Calc, or PLS-CADD. The qPole AI-assisted processing is accomplished in about 5 minutes per pole and mechanically detects and fashions every construction and its tools.

By streamlining seize and processing from a complete of half-hour to simply 7 minutes per pole, Looq is reworking utility workflows. “This common saving of 23 minutes per pole represents unlocking an estimated 19 million work hours saved yearly within the U.S. alone,” mentioned Meyer. “These reclaimed hours enable utilities to reallocate pressing funding towards grid hardening fairly than guide information entry. In an business dealing with a crucial labor scarcity, shifting focus ensures that upkeep backlogs are addressed while not having to extend headcount.”

Area measurements are correct to below a centimeter. This accuracy helps derive right development necessities, avoiding overbuilt or pointless tasks. In lots of circumstances, poles had been beforehand changed on the ratepayers’ expense when correct measurements would have confirmed enough structural integrity.

“EPI is worked up to see the subsequent evolution in distribution fielding with Looq AI,” mentioned Erik Kolb, PE, senior engineer at The Engineering Companions, Inc. “Our business is primed for this actual sort of expertise. We look ahead to integrating our fielding practices with qPole, which can enable EPI to in a short time replace its present pole data.”

“Options like this have the potential to considerably enhance how utilities method asset modeling, security, and grid reliability,” mentioned Audra C. Drazga, president and founding father of Summit Path Advisory. “I met Looq in 2025, and it has been thrilling to observe their imaginative and prescient evolve. I’m inspired to see how qPole delivers sensible, real-world worth to the business.”

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