Winner of HT-Sponsored Challenge Changing the Way Underground Utilities are Identified

Pulse Utility, which won the 2021 University of Hawai‘i Office of Innovation and Commercialization’s Innovation Impact Challenge that was sponsored by Hawaiian Telcom, is improving the way underground objects such as water mains and electrical wires are identified.

Pulse believes their service can save developers up to 25% in time, energy and money per year on utility location costs compared to the existing toner method that involves pinging a current along a utility line and tracking it. Pulse combines ground penetrating radar with augmented GPS to within accuracy of a centimeter. Their 100-pound device is towed over roads, collecting data that’s sent to their software program, which uses a 3-D overlay of Google Earth. Users can zoom in on specific areas and see the utility lines highlighted in various colors.

Pulse Utility’s first job was scanning UH’s Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex field during this year’s overhaul of the facility to prepare it for football games.

Jason Thune, Exec Dir. - Fiber Strategy & Deployment who served as a judge for the Innovation Impact Challenge, said, “Pulse Utility demonstrates tremendous potential to improve workflows in our industry. We’re proud to have helped to launch a home-grown technology innovator right here in Hawai‘i.”

Learn More at pulseutility.com