Ergon Energy and internet giant Google have partnered for a project to remotely map and maintain Ergon's electricity network, using two light aircraft equipped with laser scanners and digital cameras and Google’s new Earth Builder enterprise mapping tool.
Scheduled to fly in August, the aircraft will capture the approximately 150,000 km of power lines that make up Ergon Energy’s electricity network.
The captured high-resolution imagery will be uploaded to Earth Builder, with very little data cleansing required.
The data will immediately be available to all Ergon Energy staff through a web portal based on Google Maps. The ease-of-access, and simple, familiar interface are one reason why the system is so powerful.
"Even I, the CEO, can jump in there and look at a particular part of our network to gauge its performance and obtain key metrics" Ergon Energy CEO Ian McLeod told The Australian on Thursday.
"Nearly everyone knows how to use Google Earth and Google Maps … and I think that's part of the power of the whole thing (Earth Builder)."
Mr McLeod even said that, even though it’s early days yet, Earth Builder has the potential to replace the company’s GISystems.
