vHive has built an end-to-end solution for digitizing cell tower and rooftop portfolios by automating drone flight to capture data and generate 3D copies of the asset. These Digital Twins can be used for automatically verifying inventory, providing insights across the portfolio, load checking, inspecting for rust, and simulating modifications for the site.
“That is a very comprehensive solution for our customers,” Yariv Geller, co-founder and CEO at vHive, said. “The analytics that we provide are fairly unique and cutting-edge. We provide the capability to detect things and to get insights on the site.”
The Beginning
Although they are both from Israel, Geller and Tomer Daniel, co-founder and CTO at vHive, met while Geller was attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000 and Daniel was working for a high-tech company in Boston. The two discovered they shared a love for technology and developed a strong friendship. Fast forward to 2016, Geller and Daniel partnered to incorporate vHive to explore new technological possibilities in robotics.
At the time, the commercial use of drones was just taking off. Geller and Daniel recognized their valuable role in capturing field-related data which could be translated into actionable insights for enterprises.
“We experimented in a variety of industries, including rail, construction, and cranes. That led us to believe drones could also have a very strong impact in the telecom industry,” Geller explained. “It has been a major market for us ever since.”
Not Just Another Tool
vHive gathers photogrammetry data of cell sites by equipping tower technicians with low-cost, off-the-shelf drones that can fly autonomously, instead of requiring a professional pilot. Flying a drone becomes another routine, like performing a PIM sweep.
“We invested in building a highly autonomous system where a novice drone user can go out to the field, put the drone on the ground, and basically press a button on a tablet and have the drone take off and do everything required by itself,” Geller said.
What is a Digital Twin?
A Digital Twin is a three-dimensional digital copy of a physical asset, which is created using a data software platform that converts drone photogrammetry into a 3D reality model and applies AI and computer vision analytics algorithms to gain an understanding of the site’s composition.
With Digital Twin software, stakeholders located anywhere in the world can examine an asset closely, interact with it, and gain the information and insights that they need from it. Digital Twins provide a single source of truth about what’s happening in the field and Digital Twin visualization offers a better way for users to access large amounts of filed data, easily. A company can use this digital portfolio to manage its tower assets more efficiently.
“Our customers get answers to all sorts of questions when they interact with this data,” Geller said. “They can perform a variety of different analytics on each of the sites to develop a deep understanding of what is on site.”
Example of vHive’s Portfolio page
Digital Twin Applications
One of the first uses that became popular for drone-based photogrammetry was inspections for closeouts of colocation or amendment work, which provides cost savings for tower services companies. “Instead of sending a crew to climb a tower, measure things and snap photos to prove equipment was installed correctly, a single technician can fly a drone that more accurately documents changes made to the tower,” Geller said. “This is done in less than an hour. It is highly efficient, less dangerous, and can be performed at a lower cost.”
The next use that emerged was the ability to use the drone-generated 3D models for engineering purposes to replace manual CAD drawings. “Otherwise, you would need to have somebody send in a pile of measurements so the tower could be drawn bit by bit until you have a full 3D model,” Geller said. “The Digital Twin is created automatically, a lot faster, a lot cheaper, and it gives you an actual understanding of what the site looks like.”
In addition, the tower industry is experiencing a period of major growth and opportunity through mergers and acquisitions, which are happening at a record pace. With vHive’s Digital Twin solution, tower companies can receive insights about an entire acquired portfolio during the due diligence process – instead of the typical 10 – 15% sample set. More complete data enables more accurate portfolio pricing. The 3D Digital Twins generated by these surveys can be easily shared between stakeholders, for a smoother M&A process while digitizing the assets.
Another area of high interest, Geller has found, is tracking inventory. Many tower owners are unaware of what RAD centers they have available space on, and in which locations. Additionally, they might not know if a carrier has added equipment in-line with what is listed in the tower owner’s billing system. Having a portfolio of Digital Twins can aid a tower company’s leasing and billing capabilities.
vHive’s inventory analytics interface
“The inventory of equipment installed on a site is difficult for customers to manage. What is installed? At what level?” Geller said. “We’ve developed the ability to automatically identify all of the equipment that’s installed on a tower. The loading on a tower needs to be tracked as tenants on the tower add, remove, replace and adjust equipment.”
vHive’s platform offers AI-powered analytics that easily identify any available space on existing towers from the 3D Digital Twin. This helps tower companies to optimize profitability of their assets, ensuring that they capture revenue opportunities. Additional features help tower companies ensure that they are accurately calculating wind load: allowing them to effectively utilize open space while mitigating the risk of overloading.
Carriers can benefit from the knowledge that their antennas are optimally installed for the coverage they desire with their current antennas and whether there is room for growth on the tower. “Planning for deployment of new 5G equipment has been a big driver for Digital Twins,” Geller said. “Carriers need to figure out if there is space to install new 5G equipment, whether it is on a tower or a rooftop.”
Even though its platform is comprehensive, vHive integrates with many of the most popular asset management platforms, including Siterra, Sitetracker and Tarantula. “We are very mindful of minimizing friction, and we make sure companies can adopt the technology and use it seamlessly,” Geller said. “We’re not trying to modify workflows. Although, in the end, we do simplify things, and there are certain workflows that definitely can be adjusted.”
The Differentiator
Digital Twins are a game-changer for the telecom industry. A Digital Twin incorporates all the data, functionality and insights needed to utilize the lifecycle of a tower asset. This technology is not limited to a certain niche market. vHive has customers of all sizes around the globe. vHive’s first customers were in the U.S., but it quickly expanded into Europe, then into Latin America, and Africa. Its reach also extends to Asia and Australia. vHive counts Deutsche Telekom and very large mobile network operators in the U.S. as customers, as well as large tower companies like SBA Communications and Phoenix Tower International.
Geller attributes the company’s rapid expansion to the ease in which companies can be trained to use the drones and the ability to integrate Digital Twins into existing workflow management systems. Typically, vHive can train technicians in about an hour and a half anywhere in the world.
“Today we are the only company that has customers which are not just testing or trying out but are massively deploying at scale,” Geller said. “We’re talking about success stories. We are really beyond mere innovation. We’re really deep into the execution mode with some of the big players in the industry.”
For more information or to contact vHive, go to https://www.vhive.ai, or email them at [email protected].
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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