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Universal mCloud completes acquisition of NGRAIN; plans "aggressive roll-out" of damage assessment solution

Last updated: 11:24 09 Mar 2018 EST, First published: 06:24 09 Mar 2018 EST

Wind turbine
"We will be the industry's only provider of an AI-powered digital blade inspection capability," said Russel McMeekin, Universal mCloud's CEO

Internet of Things specialist Universal mCloud Corp (CVE:MCLD) has completed the purchase of NGRAIN, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help maintain physical assets.

NGRAIN brings revolutionary AI and three-dimensional (3D)/augmented reality technology to mCloud's AssetCare cloud solution, Universal mCloud said.

The transaction adds 10 patents in applied 3D technology to mCloud's product portfolio, supplementing mCloud's existing patents in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) diagnostic technology.

READ: Second acquisition in days makes Universal mCloud key player in AI, AR, 3D sectors

NGRAIN's AI and 3D technology, which currently serves numerous aerospace and military applications demanding high precision and reliability, will now enable mCloud to offer these same military-grade capabilities to maximise the performance of critical energy assets.

mCloud plans to go live in the second quarter with NGRAIN's AI-powered damage assessment technology, deploying drones to conduct high-resolution aerial surveys of wind turbines and will use NGRAIN's sophisticated computer vision capabilities to semi-autonomously inspect turbine blades for damage, correlate blade condition with turbine energy output and provide guidance on all required repairs.

With the ability to assess entire wind farms at scale, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional inspections, mCloud expects these capabilities will dramatically influence the economics of owning and operating wind assets around the world.

"According to research studies, turbine blade damage can result in annual energy production losses of up to 25%," said Russel McMeekin, the president and chief executive officer of Universal mCloud.

"We will be the industry's only provider of an AI-powered digital blade inspection capability, setting new standards both in terms of how the industry will conduct inspections going forward and how asset owners will ultimately profit from the optimised performance of their assets. As we head into the second half of 2018 and lead up to 2019, NGRAIN's AI technology, combined with our in-house wind expertise, will allow us to further optimise customer's asset care budgets," McKeekin said.

"Feedback from wind technology providers, suppliers, service organisations, and other key stakeholders has been overwhelmingly positive. AI-powered inspections are an incredible market opportunity as the vast majority of turbine assets today operate with no scalable strategy to maximise their energy output, and ultimately their ROI," continued McMeekin. "We expect this to enhance our ability to scale in North America and Europe and accelerate our entry into new markets such as China. Since acquiring the joint technology rights of Norwin wind turbine technology and adding Ole Sangill and Yan Zhao to mCloud's team for our China expansion strategy, these global market opportunities have become increasingly compelling," he added.

Dr Barry Po, NGRAIN's senior director responsible for product and business development said the two companies have made great progress in defining and getting ready for “a very aggressive roll-out of our AI-powered damage assessment capabilities as part of the AssetCare Wind solution."

Shares in Universal mCloud were up half a cent at C$0.37 on Friday morning.

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