Annually, millions of people throughout Brazil are affected by blackouts. These interruptions in the electricity supply are becoming increasingly common and cause great financial losses - as a recent example of this scenario, we can mention the blackouts caused by the storms that hit the South and Southeast in the first half of the month, leaving entire cities without basic services such as light and water. One of the reasons that most generates these blackouts is trees falling on the electrical grid, a situation that can now be avoided using an innovative solution from Pix Force - a reference startup in artificial intelligence in Brazil. The solution uses advanced technologies to optimize the tree pruning process, especially of those growing next to transmission lines, making it more effective and safer. According to industry data, it is estimated that trees are responsible for more than 90% of energy interruptions in the country today. This is because when they are not properly pruned or removed, they can fall on power lines during more severe storms. In addition to causing problems for users, these blackouts represent a significant cost for energy distribution concessionaires. This type of problem represents, in some cases, up to 30% of the operational cost of energy companies, which often rely on manual processes to manage pruning. The CEO of Pix Force, Daniel Moura, highlighted that currently all cities in Brazil are supplied by overhead distribution lines, which makes precise control of this tree growth over the electrical grid difficult. “As Brazil is a tropical country, vegetation grows at a very high speed and it is very difficult to ensure that they are growing at a safe distance from power lines,” observed the CEO. In this way, it is necessary for company teams to travel through the cities seeking to identify which locations need tree pruning, which makes the process more costly and imprecise. Often, it is not possible to know the priority of cutting the trees, given that this observation is made from a distance. And it was precisely with the goal of bringing greater efficiency to the sector that Pix developed the Pix 360 project. The initiative, developed under ANEEL's R&D program, assists in identifying trees that need to be pruned, and also optimizes routes for maintenance teams, prioritizing those that require critical and/or urgent interventions. And how does the Pix 360 system work? The system consists of a vehicle equipped with optical sensors capable of automatically mapping trees and the distribution network on the streets. One of these sensors is a 360º camera, which allows the capture of high-resolution color images with a definition of up to 5K. Another key sensor is LiDAR, which with the use of lasers enables the reproduction of the scenery around the vehicle, projecting it into a 3D virtual environment formed by thousands of points, where each point is georeferenced. The compilation and synchronization of the data obtained by these two sensors allow the creation of a point cloud (3D virtual environment) where it is possible to measure the distance between a point on the wire and a point on the tree. In this way, efficiently, it is possible to identify all interferences in the city, and categorize them by their criticality (according to the proximity between the electrical power line and the vegetation). This entire process is carried out automatically by Artificial Intelligence algorithms. “With Pix 360, companies are able to obtain precise data on the distance of power lines and which areas need vegetation pruning,” pointed out Daniel Moura. After data collection, the team responsible for managing the concessionaires' pruning receives a map of the city as a result with the location of each interference, classified by its criticality. In this way, the management of pruning activities becomes much more efficient. Pix 360 also offers real-time reports, which issue alerts to field teams about critical conditions, allowing faster and more effective responses, making the process more agile and secure. The reports also include information about vegetation close to assets, which could pose a risk to the safety and stability of the electrical grid. By eliminating the need for time-consuming and expensive manual inspections, Pix 360 makes the asset recognition process more efficient and agile, directly contributing to the reduction of operational costs for energy concessionaires. Other applications of Pix 360: The tool can also be used for other market segments, not just energy. This is because Pix 360's sensors are capable of recreating the entire atmosphere of the streets. Its AI algorithms can be trained to identify, evaluate, and classify any asset, generating customized reports on each inspected asset according to the mapping needs of each organization. In view of this, Pix 360 is not just an inspection solution - it is a true revolution in the way we understand and improve our urban environment. Another differentiator of the tool refers to the ability to integrate with other technologies through APIs, which expands its versatility and utility. In this way, the use of the tool is relevant, both for the electricity sector and for other segments that require frequent inspections in the provision of services. To learn more about Pix Force and how we are revolutionizing the market through solutions based on computer vision and AI, follow our social media at @pix_force.