AUSTIN, TX — Froliq, a trailblazer in extended reality technology and Oracle Energy and Water are collaborating on an enhanced augmented reality (AR) outage visualization platform for utility companies worldwide.
At the Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago, Froliq and Oracle will test how to make customer communication and first-responder challenges for utilities less abstract by bridging the gap between advanced data analytics and intuitive AR data visualization. Through this collaboration, utilities will be able to access state-of-the-art data visualization capabilities that are seamlessly integrated with Oracle Energy and Water’s real-time outage management systems. In this potential first for the electric utility industry, the Oracle Industry Lab will serve as a research facility for ongoing outage data experimentation, testing, and analysis for Oracle and Froliq.
This elegant combination of heart and mind was a signature part of Oracle’s previous virtual reality (VR) experiences collaboration with Froliq that were installed at the Smithsonian FUTURES exhibit from November 2021 to July 2022. Data collected from over 10K visitors showed which energy and water saving choices they were most likely to implement and informed customer messaging for utilities. Now the companies are teaming to help utilities unlock the full potential of the customer outage journey and optimize their decision-making processes.
For example, imagine if, during an outage, utilities could visualize both their network and their customers at the same time. Combining Froliq’s augmented technology with Oracle’s outage management system, utilities could:
- Connect customer and network systems into actionable/interactive visuals to fully understand the customer experience during an outage.
- Humanize outage data (giving it context for customers and employees) to help make tough priority calls.
- Better connect utility first-responders (e.g. fieldworkers) with their colleagues and their customers, improving safety and customer satisfaction.
- Prepare the next-generation workforce to understand outage scenarios (and customers impacted).
“According to North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) findings this past December, the U.S. grid faces a very high risk of electricity shortfalls by 2027,” shared Jason Rodriguez, Froliq CEO and Co-Founder. “Integrating Froliq’s AR dataviz platform with Oracle Energy and Water’s real-time utility outage data, this partnership demonstrates the combined R&D commitment to humanizing outages with actionable and visual insights—accessible to utilities of all sizes.”
“Our industry has already made great progress developing solutions to help utilities improve the personalization and deliver more customer-centric interactions. Outages are the ultimate test of a utility’s ability to execute on targeted, accurate, and timely communication to improve customer satisfaction,” shared Mike Ballard, vice president, industry strategy for Oracle Energy and Water. “Emerging technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, combined with AI, are finally providing tools to bring to life the reality of how individual customers experience outages, and can help in the decision making of utilities to prioritize their most vulnerable customers.”
Following the successful completion of this initiative, both Oracle and Froliq will turn their AR/VR attention to helping manage the rapidly growing network of distributed energy resources (such as wind, solar, batteries, and electric vehicles) that are vital to delivering a sustainable and affordable energy future.
To learn more about Oracle Energy and Water’s full suite of horizontal business and utility-specific solutions, spanning customer care and engagement, metering, work and asset management, grid and network management, and data analytics, visit: www.oracle.com/utilities
About Froliq
Engaged with clients such as Exelon, SMUD, Austin Energy and CPS Energy—Froliq has established itself as a prominent player in the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) domains. Froliq is future proofing the utility industry by training first responders through immersive, gamified learning experiences. To learn more, visit: www.frlq.co/
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