| Workforce development
“But Jarvis doesn’t judge. You ask the question, and you get the answer.” The platform has proven especially useful for companies looking to retain access to senior expertise even after technicians leave the workforce. Prasad shares one origin story that’s become folklore within Airwave. “There was a guy named Don. He was retiring after 40 years. Knew everything. But he didn’t want to come to work anymore. So they put Airwave on his phone. When he was out fishing or whatever he was doing in retirement, he could go in and just answer questions. He loved it.”
Don’s knowledge stayed within the company, helping train and support younger staff – without him ever setting foot on-site again.
From reluctance to enthusiasm There’s often skepticism when introducing new tech
– especially to seasoned workers. But Prasad says the pattern is always the same. “Initially, there’s reluctance. They say, ‘I don’t need this. I’ve been doing this for 40 years.’ Then they try it, and you see them smile. Because they realise, ‘For 40 years I had to walk back to the truck when I didn’t know something. Sometimes that’s an hour. Now, I hit a button.’” The initial curiosity often turns into enthusiasm. “For the first week, they try to break it. They ask hundreds of questions,” he laughs. “And then they start engaging with other people. They’re not just answering the same thing over and over. With Airwave, you answer it once, and you never have to answer it again.”
Improving safety, accuracy, and
efficiency The benefits extend well beyond convenience. “People are safer,” Prasad says. “They’re less likely to skip steps or guess wrong, because they have the right information, right there.” The platform also reduces time spent walking back and forth or waiting for clarification. “In one case, a worker didn’t remember the measurements the foreman gave them. They had to walk all the way back. Now, they can just ask.”
Prasad also emphasises that Airwave is not
replacing human intelligence – it’s amplifying it. “Artificial intelligence, in our space, doesn’t replace jobs. It augments them. It’s a force multiplier. You can take a junior technician and make them a great technician, because they have access to the experience of everyone who came before.”
Offline access, global language
support and intellectual property For field operations in remote or underground hydropower sites, connectivity can be an issue. Airwave is designed with that in mind. “We built it knowing technicians are in pits, tunnels, basements – areas where there’s no signal,” says Prasad. “So it works offline. You can prepare a question or record a video while offline, and it’ll sync later.” It also supports multilingual communication. “You can be in South Africa speaking Afrikaans, and it’ll pull info from an English manual and reply in your language. It’s language-fluent.” Accuracy and security are core principles of the system. Airwave avoids the pitfalls of publicly trained AI
Key features of Airwave
Most AI was built for desk jobs. Airwave wasn’t. It was built for field teams: where work moves fast, answers aren’t always in the manual, and getting it right the first time matters. Airwave captures what happens in the field and makes it searchable in seconds with AI assistant, Jarvis. Airwave is built with data privacy at its core. Everything within your workspace
– voice messages, videos, service manuals, documents, field notes, etc – stays securely within your workspace. Unlike other AI platforms, your data will never be shared with other customers and is never used to train AI models for other customers. Your data stays yours – private, secure, and under your control. With Airwave, your team can: Fix issues faster with clear, step-by-step instructions—no guesswork Learn from real-world video fixes shared by experienced techs Get instant answers with AI that searches your manuals, parts lists, and notes Save time with voice-powered tools built for noisy, hands-on environments Keep your knowledge safe with a private workspace that stays in your control
models by keeping all data internal and private to each workspace.
“All the information is secured within each
customer’s workspace,” says Prasad. “Technician know-how is intellectual property. We don’t share it between companies. We don’t put it on the internet. We don’t use that data to train our models for their competitors.” Organisations can control access and even share knowledge across subsidiaries, if they choose, but the foundation is privacy and precision.
What’s next? Airwave’s next innovation aims to eliminate even the
need to look at a screen. The company is working on smart safety glasses with built-in microphones, speakers, and cameras. “Every technician has to wear safety glasses,” Prasad says. “So why not make them smart?” With a simple voice command – “Hey Jarvis, what’s the efficiency rating on this machine?” – the technician can receive an audio response without breaking focus or taking out a phone. The system can also record and send video, facilitating real-time support or future reference. “These are safety-first environments,” Prasad adds. “If you can help someone keep their hands free and eyes up, that’s a win.”
Reimagining human-AI collaboration At its core, Airwave is not about replacing the human
element, but enhancing it.
“I’m a mechanic. I love working on machines,” Prasad says. “AI is really about enabling intelligence. It makes it easy for experts to give, and easy for others to get.” The future, as Prasad sees it, is still very much hands-
on. “You’re still turning the wrench. But now you’re not alone. You’ve got the knowledge of your whole company with you.” In hydropower and beyond, tools like Airwave offer
a way to preserve critical institutional knowledge, support the incoming workforce, and ensure continuity in mission-critical operations. As the industry faces increasing demands with fewer experienced hands, platforms like this could prove indispensable – not as a replacement for expertise, but as its amplifier.
More information Visit
www.airwave.us
www.waterpowermagazine.com | May 2025 | 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45
