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QLD pilots AI water leak detection

The innovative technology leads engineers to the site of hard-to-find water leaks and is will be trialled in Australia and New Zealand for the first time, starting in Queensland.

UK-based FIDO Tech’s technology couples sophisticated AI with the world’s largest library of leak data to pinpoint leak location within 1 m.

Described as a ‘game-changer’ in the UK water sector, FIDO’s technology boasts more than 90 per cent accuracy, which improves with every new leak it finds.

Now, a collaboration between FIDO Tech and Australia’s Detection Services Ltd will introduce the technology to the Australasian region. 

Detection Services will demonstrate FIDO’s capability in various water network environments with a series of pilot projects in the region.

The first pilot is under way in Queensland, where Detection Services carries out services for a Queensland Water Services Provider.

FIDO is being used on its network of water pipes serving its CBD, a zone chosen because of its high-density and consistent ongoing construction, which can affect sounds loggers record and make traditional leak detection by ear more difficult.

FIDO CEO Victoria Edwards said unless leaks show themselves above ground, it is “phenomenally difficult” to find them.

“Even a small leak, left undetected, loses vast quantities of water over time. Multiply that over the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of, often very rural, pipeline in Australia and the scale of the problem is apparent,” she said. 

General Manager of Detection Services Chris Evans said the organisation is always looking for innovation technology to improve the reliability and sustainability of water supplies.

“This collaboration does just that,” he said.

“With FIDO, data driven water management is now meeting artificial intelligence, fundamentally changing how we manage leakage.

“Acoustic loggers are already a feature of many water networks, but they can be affected by external factors such as nearby traffic or construction noise.

“Proprietary software and the human ear were used to decide whether a noise was a leak or not.

“FIDO all but eliminates that uncertainty and its functionality and ease of use makes it applicable in a range of situations.

“We’re very proud to be able to offer this technology here in Australasia to help our customers take their smart water networks to the next level and further drive reductions in water loss.”

For more information visit Australian Detection Services website.

If you have news you would like featured in Trenchless Australasia contact Assistant Editor Sophie Venz at svenz@gs-press.com.au

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