AT&T Works Toward Automated Tower Inspections with Drones

Monday, August 21, 2017 | Comments

AT&T said its video analytics team at AT&T Labs joined forces with its national drone team to bring automated cell tower inspections a step closer to reality.

The carrier said it is often installing, repairing or inspecting one of its 65,000 cell towers, and it already contracts with vendors that conduct drone inspections of towers. With automation, AT&T can do the job faster, better and more efficiently, said Mazin Gilbert, vice president of advanced technology at AT&T Labs in a blog.

“With regulatory changes and further research, we hope that automated inspections will be possible,” he said.

AT&T created a deep learning-based algorithm that analyzes video footage and shows promise in detecting defects and anomalies. The company is investigating how drones can be used to inspect these towers and feed high-definition video to technicians, who can view the video in real time.

“Imagine in the future a drone stationed by a cell tower,” Gilbert said. “It fully charges itself. It then inspects and communicates the condition of the tower — and potentially repairs it.”

A video with more information is here.

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