Not as Easy as It Looks

In a modern world everyone assumes that power recharges are just a “plug away.” Just plug your device into the next power outlet and your issues are over. Generating and distributing power isn’t magic. It’s an industry.  

Why Do You Care about EPRI?

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) works collaboratively with more than 450 utility provider members and participants internationally to identify or create the technologies that utilities will need to provide affordable, reliable, safe, efficient and environmentally responsible electric power to the world. By leveraging its research and membership, EPRI is helping utilities investigate the benefit of using AR-assisted workflows to improve worker safety and efficiency.

Why Does EPRI Care about the AREA?

Augmented Reality promises to change how electric utilities will operate in the future. Like in electric utilities, strong industry associations are necessary to promote and develop Augmented Reality technologies and standards to the point that they are productive and as easy to use as plugging your device into the socket.

Our experience with introducing new systems into electric utilities is that you can’t get from here to there, from nascent to mature industry, in a single step. You have to have partners and communities. New tools and techniques gleaned from AREA members in other industries can be applied to utilities, reducing the cost of technology implementation for our members in the near term, and the cost of generating and distributing electricity in the long run. Collaborating with AREA members will result in products that better serve the utility industry and the public.

Members of the AREA represent the thought leaders in an emerging technology that EPRI and its members think will be pivotal to increase efficiency and safety for workers among EPRI‘s utility membership.

EPRI is proud to be a Founding Sponsor member of the AREA. Joining AREA and getting it launched successfully is only the beginning.

Bringing Together the Best and the Brightest

In close partnership with AREA, EPRI is going to bring the AR vendor community closer to the utility vendor community.

As a first step, we are organizing a special two-day workshop to be held at the EPRI Charlotte office on July 27-28, 2015. The AREA members and other AR ecosystem stakeholders will present on their position in the market and technology. The utility customers will ask some tough questions about reliability, standards and security. They will go over the best use cases around workflow in the field and asset management.

In a matter of a few short days, these groups will be able to formulate better strategies for improving the operations of utilities without putting assets and people at risk.

We know that this is an important step towards bringing our two industries closer together. Join the AREA to learn the details of this special program and visit the event page for more information about AR in Leading-edge Utilities.