By Dave Umrysh
In 2026, Golden Retriever celebrates its 12th anniversary. To mark this milestone, we are investing more time and resources into preparing the platform for the next decade and beyond.
Several significant improvements have already launched this year, with additional capabilities currently in development. Together, these projects are designed to make Golden Retriever more intuitive, expand what inspection teams can accomplish in the field and help utilities get greater value from the information they already collect.
A Redesigned Admin Portal
One of our first major projects was a comprehensive update to the Golden Retriever admin portal.
Customers began seeing the new interface earlier this year. The refreshed portal features an improved layout, an updated colour palette and a cleaner, more modern design. These changes make the system easier to navigate while helping users find and manage their information more efficiently.
Integrated Strength Calculator
Another major addition already available in Golden Retriever is the new cross-section property strength calculator.
Like other pole-strength calculation products, the calculator begins with a round pole cross-section and subtracts the shapes representing damaged or missing wood. It then calculates the remaining cross-sectional area, moment of inertia and section modulus.
When administrators add the calculator field to a Golden Retriever dictionary, they can choose to have an image of the completed results page automatically attached to the collection record. This provides a convenient visual record of the field calculation.
Golden Retriever also stores the values entered by the inspector in a separate, adjacent field. This allows the calculation to be reviewed or recreated later using another approved calculation tool if required.
Best of all, the calculator is included with the regular Golden Retriever device license at no additional charge.
Add the strength calculator to your dictionaries, try it in the field, and let us know what you think.
Built-In Data Converter
Golden Retriever users can now convert common geospatial files into WGS84 CSV files directly through the admin portal
Previously, users often needed external GIS software to convert Shapefiles, GeoJSON, KML/KMZ, GPX and other coordinate-based files into a CSV format that could be imported into Golden Retriever.
The new Data Converter brings this process directly into the admin portal. Users can prepare compatible import files more quickly, without installing separate conversion software. The tool is available at no additional cost.
The features above are already available, but they represent only part of our current investment in the platform. Several ambitious projects are now under development.
Virtual Lineman: Turning Inspection Photos into Actionable Data
Our team is currently training Virtual Lineman, a computer-vision system designed to identify utility hardware in the photographs crews already capture during pole inspections.
A growing number of vision systems can catalogue utility assets from drone imagery. However, fewer solutions are designed around photographs taken from ground level during routine inspections. Virtual Lineman is being developed specifically to address that need.
Our goal is to eliminate the requirement for a separate, specialized drone program when suitable inspection photographs can be collected by crews already working in the field. Inspectors would simply capture a clear image of the top of each pole, and Virtual Lineman would analyze the photograph to help identify the installed equipment.
Virtual Lineman is also being trained to look for visible indications of damage. In the future, Golden Retriever could review newly collected photographs automatically and generate a morning report identifying poles that may require further attention—even when the original inspector did not record a defect.
This will help organizations obtain more value from existing inspection programs while adding another layer of review to their asset data.
Training Portal: Connecting Education with Field Experience
Golden Retriever began as a solution to challenges we encountered in our own operations. The upcoming Training Portal continues that tradition.
Online courses are not new. The opportunity lies in connecting training directly to the asset-management platform crews already use to document their fieldwork.
For example, a newly promoted inspector could begin by completing an online course through the Training Portal. After passing the course, the inspector would receive a certificate recognizing completion of the classroom portion of the program.
As the inspector begins working alongside a mentor, completed pole inspections could then be associated with their training record. Once the inspector reaches an experience threshold established by the organization—such as 1,000 inspected poles—Golden Retriever could automatically notify the inspector and their managers that the field-training requirement has been completed.
This would allow organizations to track both knowledge and practical experience within a single training workflow.
The Training Portal is also being designed to allow Golden Retriever customers to create their own courses. Organizations may eventually be able to offer those courses to other Golden Retriever users, creating new opportunities to share specialized industry knowledge.
Hands-Free Mode of Golden Retriever
Although this project is still in its early stages, hands-free mode of Golden Retriever could significantly change how inspectors interact with Golden Retriever in the field.
The vision is to allow an inspector to complete much of an inspection without removing their phone from their pocket.
As the inspector approaches a pole, Golden Retriever could recognize the nearby asset and ask whether a new collection record should be created. The inspector could then complete the inspection verbally through compatible smart glasses while viewing the entered information through a visual overlay.
Voice commands could also control the glasses’ cameras, allowing the inspector to capture the required pole photographs without handling a phone.
The result would be a more natural, hands-free inspection process designed around real field conditions:
Conclusion
Twelve years after its launch, Golden Retriever continues to evolve around the practical needs of inspection crews, managers and asset owners.
The redesigned admin portal, integrated strength calculator and data converter are already helping customers work more efficiently. Looking ahead, Virtual Lineman, the training portal and hands-free mode of Golden Retriever represent our vision for a platform that does more than collect inspection data. It helps interpret that data, develop the people collecting it and improve the way fieldwork is completed.
We look forward to sharing more as these projects progress and to working with our customers to shape the next decade of Golden Retriever.