At IO Aerospace, we believe that superior data leads to stronger, safer infrastructure. We are currently supporting Manitoba Hydro with an extensive campaign to map their entire transmission network and deliver advanced insights into vegetation encroachment and risk.
Across North America, utilities are facing increased pressure from aging infrastructure, more frequent severe weather events, and heightened wildfire risks. Vegetation encroachment—trees and brush growing too close to powerlines—remains one of the leading causes of outages and one of the hardest challenges to monitor at scale.
In September 2025, IO Aerospace successfully executed an extensive aerial survey campaign across Manitoba, flying more than 52,000 km² of sub-transmission and distribution power lines and capturing crucial data over 14 flights in nine days.
Using these datasets, our analysis is designed to facilitate Manitoba Hydro’s identification of vegetation and infrastructure risks before they lead to service interruptions. Our analytics help the utility triage and prioritize areas of greatest concern, enabling faster decision-making, more efficient use of field crews, and contributing to fewer outages and safer communities.
This project represents a major step in applying geospatial intelligence to utility operations. By mapping every corner of the grid, we are delivering actionable insight that helps utilities stay ahead of risks and respond quickly when conditions demand it.
Seeing the Lines: IO Imagery for Utility Management and Encroachment Analysis
Linear infrastructure such as powerlines, pipelines, and fiber corridors requires continuous monitoring to ensure operational safety and regulatory compliance. But even with GPS records and as-built drawings, what is happening on the ground often goes unseen. Trees grow into clearance zones. Structures creep into rights-of-way. Surface changes accumulate quietly and pose significant risks.
Why High-Resolution Aerial Imagery Matters
Aerial imagery provides a current, measurable view of corridor conditions at a scale that is difficult to achieve from the ground. With 10cm image resolution, utilities can identify encroachments into easements and buffer zones, detect vegetation growth that may impact reliability, assess infrastructure condition remotely, and support permitting, documentation, and audits.
Orthorectified imagery provides sub-meter horizontal accuracy, making it easy to work with existing GIS platforms. This compatibility allows utilities to layer imagery with asset maps, clearance data, and spatial models to better understand risks and plan maintenance activities.
Mission-Ready Technology with Rapid Deployment
IO Aerospace specializes in high-altitude, aircraft-based data collection. Unlike satellite providers or slower ground-based operations, IO can deploy quickly and fly long-range missions using a modified Learjet 35, making it ideal for wide-area coverage of transmission corridors, pipelines, and other critical assets.
Utilities facing urgent inspection needs due to storms, wildfires, or system faults benefit from rapid turnaround and targeted data acquisition without compromising on resolution or accuracy.
Aviation Meets Geomatics
IO Aerospace is not just an aerial platform; it is a team of geomatics engineers, remote sensing scientists, and aviation professionals. That unique blend means clients receive data that is both technically precise and immediately usable, with the metadata and quality controls required for enterprise systems.
To be useful, imagery must fit seamlessly into utility workflows. That means delivering data in GIS-ready formats, providing metadata aligned with spatial standards, and supporting derived products such as canopy height models, object detection layers, and clearance maps.
Imagery in the Utility Digital Ecosystem
As utilities move toward predictive maintenance, digital twins, and automated inspections, aerial imagery plays a critical role in feeding these systems with high-quality, current data. It supports condition-based monitoring, risk modeling, and asset lifecycle management, all from above.
