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United Utilities claims to have amassed the largest collection of leakage data in the world after partnering with a tech firm to tackle the issue using acoustic sensors and artificial intelligence.
The water company worked with Fido Tech to develop a system for collecting and analysing sound data to triangulate the precise location of leaks.
United Utilities (UU) said the use of machine learning allows the system to become better at finding leaks as it takes in more data, for example, in noisy places where they are usually more difficult to detect. Fido Tech claims an accuracy rate of more than 85 per cent for finding leaks – including the size of the problem – for its AInytime system.
The technology was developed by Victoria Edwards and Neil Edwards who used UU’s annual Innovation Lab competition to develop their idea into a market-ready product.
Victoria Edwards, chief executive at Fido, said the listening device is rugged, simple and ready to deploy in the field: “Once activated, it picks up sounds, vibrations and kinetic data and feeds them back to its fast-growing leak library for real-time analysis, to say where the leaks are, to within a distance of one metre. It can either be used above ground as a listening stick or, like a dog, tethered to a lead and put inside the pipe itself.”
Kevin Fowlie, network and capital delivery director at UU, said the limitations of human senses to assess leaks from network loggers and sensors are surpassed by the Fido system and that it can even calculate the severity of the leak to prioritise repairs.
The Innovation Lab, which has been running for two years, brings fledgling and emerging tech into the UK water sector. Participating projects undergo a 10-week incubation period to work with the teams at UU to share data and expertise to refine ideas.
During that 10-week period, Fido Tech spent time gathering leakage data from Manchester and across UU’s catchment and created a bespoke testing site that includes the largest data library on leakage in the world.
Fido has a five-year contract to work with UU and has received interest from others in the sector as well as £1.5 million of investment.
UU was fast-tracked for its PR19 business plans, in which Ofwat set the target of a 20 per cent reduction in leaks between 2020-25.
The third annual Innovation Lab competition will launch in June.
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