Making the Intelligent Power Grid Happen with Barbara Edge AI Platform

We are back at ENLIT Europe 2023, to showcase how Transmission and Distribution System operators can improve their operations by virtualizing HV, MV and LV substations and add intelligence to their assets with Edge AI Technology.

Smart Grid
Written by:
Miren Zabaleta

About Enlit Europe

From November 28th to 30th ENLIT EUROPE will bring together more than 12,000 energy professionals, 700 exhibitors, and 500 speakers to explore the latest industry and technology developments, aiming to accelerate the energy transition.

Once again, Barbara will be exhibiting within the Basque Energy Pavilion and showcasing Edge Computing based solutions for critical installations.

How to move from Digital to Intelligent Power Grid networks

The current deployment of substation assets, i.e. IEDs are no longer able to respond to the requirements of a flexible grid. The reason why is because their functions or uses are inseparable from the electronic equipment and operators find themselves constrained when they want to implement new functions or make any changes. How can Power Grid Stakeholders freely adapt to the new requirements in a short time scale? The answer is by virtualizing the functionalities of IEDs.

Functionalities need to be in a software plane so that they can be deployed and changed, at will. Once assets are virtualized, intelligence can be added to the equipment.

Want to know more? download: Transmission Substation Virtualization Use Case by Barbara

New dimension for T&D operators: scaling AI in thousands of distributed locations

Edge AI is the combination of Edge Computing and AI. It allows T&D operators to enjoy the advantages of the Cloud directly within the substations and within their control. It can be summed up s the ability to execute artificial intelligence algorithms on devices ( IoT devices, edge devices) that are very close to data source. It provides operators with real-time intelligence, and allows models to run in remote environments.

At Barbara, we think that the Smart Grid cannot be solely managed from centralised platforms. Data privacy, process autonomy, low-latency response times and enhanced cybersecurity  are all reasons for a more highly distributed and independent IT infrastructure for AI deployment.  - Peter Rawlins VP Business Development at Barbara.

Related content: The Emergence of Edge AI, a Game Changer for Industries

Leading the Virtualization of HV and MLV Substations

Trusted by Tier 1 T&D operators, Barbara has positioned itself as the leading technology provider for Substation Virtualization. Barbara ́s technology stack allows the communication and virtualisation of any smart electricity network element. It incorporates all widespread industrial protocols southbound, freely runs any dockerised process or micro-service concurrently on the same device and includes all connectivity options northbound.  

In this year's edition, we'll be featuring three live #demonstrations, highlighting how operators can deploy and  manage AI models using Barbara Edge Platform.

#DEMO 1: Deploying AI flexible algorithms in a Virtualized LV / ML Substation

Discover how Barbara platform empowers DSOs to gather data from substations, deploy algorithms, and enable flexibility markets. Barbara will demonstrate together with Cuerva the remote deployment and maintenance of these algorithm, showcasing operational efficiency in production environments.

#DEMO 2: HV Substation Virtual Oscilloscope

Unlocking precision in electrical signal analysis, our demo highlights how Barbara's platform enables TSOs to virtualize oscilloscopes. With specialized connectors and edge apps, TSOs can seamlessly collect, store, and visualize 4,000 sampled values of voltages, currents, and quality marks.

Barbara´s platform ensures the highest standards of data security and privacy, revolutionizing how TSOs monitor and maintain optimal system performance.

#DEMO 3: Edge Computer Vision PPE-Detection Model

Unleash the potential of your Computer Vision projects with Picsellia and Barbara. Learn how to seamlessly build and deploy a computer vision model that detects PPE attire.

About Barbara

Barbara helps grid operators deploy and maintain algorithms in real-time while complying with the highest cybersecurity standard (standard IEC-62443-4-2 security level 1. Thanks to Barbara, companies can integrate both legacy and next-generation industrial equipment data, deploy their own or third-party intelligence through our Marketplace, and streamline their management at scale on a single platform from anywhere.

If interested in knowing more, do contact us.