SAN DIEGO, CA, Feb 10, 2026 – Looq AI has launched qPole, an AI-enabled system designed to analyze utility poles for power grid operations. The software trains AI models to assess pole structure, geometry, materials, and field conditions using engineering-based logic.
The U.S. power grid includes an estimated 180 – 200 million distribution poles, many of them aging or exposed to extreme weather. Utilities face increasing pressure from wildfire mitigation and storm hardening mandates. Reliable pole data is essential for grid planning, yet collection remains slow and inconsistent. Thousands of contractors still rely on manual Pole Load Analysis (PLA) to assess pole condition and capacity.
“We have trained the computer to look at a set of images and understand the pole’s DNA – its height, diameter, material,” said Dominique Meyer, CEO of Looq AI. “It also detects critical components like crossarms and transformers – just as an experienced engineer would.” This approach produces an engineering-ready pole model, rather than a collection of measurements.
Field to Office: A Transformative Pole Modeling Workflow
Utility crews spend about 15 minutes per pole to document height and attachments using manual measurements, hot-sticking, or image-based methods. This work often requires travel through rough terrain and severe weather, and some sites present wildlife risks. Looq said its system reduces field capture time to about two minutes per pole.
“Looq’s AI uses this human-like understanding to create a blueprint of a CAD model for each pole,” Meyer said. “It captures the data necessary to evaluate asset health, identifies current or potential future failures, and clearly communicates the path to remediation.”
Engineers often spend about 15 minutes per pole validating field data before importing it into PLA tools such as SPIDAcalc, O-Calc, or PLS-CADD. Looq said qPole reduces that step to about five minutes per pole using AI-assisted detection and modeling.
Looq tools reduce total capture and processing time per pole to about 7 minutes, down from about 30 minutes. “This average saving of 23 minutes per pole represents unlocking an estimated 19 million work hours saved annually in the U.S. alone,” said Meyer. “These reclaimed hours allow utilities to reallocate urgent investment toward grid hardening rather than manual data entry. In an industry facing a critical labor shortage, shifting focus ensures that maintenance backlogs are addressed without needing to increase headcount.”
Looq said its field measurements are accurate to less than 1 centimeter, which can help engineers set construction requirements and limit unnecessary work. In some cases, utilities have replaced poles and billed ratepayers even though measurements could have shown the poles met structural requirements.
“EPI is excited to see the next evolution in distribution fielding with Looq AI,” said Erik Kolb, PE, senior engineer at The Engineering Partners, Inc. “Our industry is primed for this exact kind of technology. We look forward to integrating our fielding practices with qPole, which will allow EPI to very quickly update its existing pole information.”
“Solutions like this have the potential to significantly improve how utilities approach asset modeling, safety, and grid reliability,” said Audra C. Drazga, president and founder of Summit Path Advisory. “I met Looq in 2025, and it has been exciting to watch their vision evolve. I am encouraged to see how qPole delivers practical, real-world value to the industry.”
Source: Looq AI
About Looq AI
Looq AI, founded in 2021 and headquartered in San Diego, is a technology company focused on advancing infrastructure digitization through hardware-enabled software. The company develops a handheld, ground-based capture system that uses its proprietary camera technology to make survey-grade 3D capture cost-effective at scale. Its platform enables users to create, visualize, analyze, collaborate, and integrate spatial data, producing 3D models, digital twins, and insights for topographic mapping and transmission and distribution asset management. Looq AI serves industries including civil engineering, surveying, utilities, and the built environment. By combining data capture with advanced analysis, the company helps engineering and infrastructure teams improve accuracy and productivity.