📇 The Project at a Glance

ZEDBOX – AI-powered Lightning Prediction and Protection System

Predicting lightning before it strikes to protect lives and critical energy infrastructure.

🏢 Start-up / Organization

ZEDBOX / InnovateHub

👤 Project Leader(s)

Serge Auguste Zaongo

🌍 Country

Burkina Faso (West Africa)

⚡ Energy Sector Segment

Grid resilience, off-grid infrastructure protection, climate resilience

🧠 Key Technology(ies)

AI, IoT, embedded systems, solar-powered devices, cloud platform

📊 Status

Pilot phase – functional prototype validated

Hero

Company Overview

InnovateHub is a technology and innovation company based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It designs IoT and AI-powered solutions to address challenges in energy and infrastructure, including the ZEDBOX lightning detection system, which predicts lightning strikes and protects critical power infrastructure.

Challenge

What problem is being addressed?

Many African countries face extremely high lightning activity, with more than 18 lightning strikes/km² per year, and up to 59.2 strikes/km² in regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite this risk, most infrastructures and households lack predictive protection systems, leading to frequent damage to telecom towers, solar inverters, and electrical equipment. Across 15 high-risk African countries, over 50,000 industrial and utility sites and 15 million households remain exposed to lightning-related electrical damage.

Why this issue matters in the local energy ecosystem

Lightning-related failures cause major service interruptions, equipment losses, and revenue drops for energy and telecom operators in regions where infrastructure reliability is already fragile.

The Solution

What does the project do?

ZEDBOX is a solar-powered smart device that monitors environmental parameters and lightning activity in real time using embedded sensors and long-range communication. The system analyzes these data with artificial intelligence to predict lightning risk and automatically send alerts to users. It can also remotely disconnect sensitive electrical equipment before a lightning strike to prevent damage.

What makes it innovative?

ZEDBOX combines real-time lightning detection (up to 40 km), AI-based risk prediction, and automated remote disconnection in a single autonomous system designed for high-risk environments.

How It Works

In practice

ZEDBOX devices are installed near sensitive infrastructures and continuously monitor environmental parameters and lightning activity. The collected data are transmitted to a cloud platform where AI models analyze real-time and historical data to assess lightning risk. When a high-risk situation is detected, the system automatically sends alerts and can remotely disconnect vulnerable equipment to prevent damage.

Tools / platforms / data used

• Solar-powered sensor units
• Cloud infrastructure
• Web platform: https://app.zedbox.net/
• Mobile application: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.zedbox.app&pcampaignid=web_share
• Environmental data streams (temperature, humidity, atmospheric conditions, lightning activity)

Technologies leveraged

• Embedded sensors
• Long-range wireless communication
• Cloud computing
• Artificial intelligence for predictive analysis
• Remote-controlled electrical switching systems

Who uses it

• Energy providers
• Telecom operators
• Industrial sites
• Municipalities
• Households in high lightning-risk areas

Examples of field applications

• Protection of telecom towers and data centers from lightning-induced surges
• Protection of solar plants and grid-connected inverters
• Protection of industrial sites (mines, oil & gas facilities)
• Early warning and protection for household electrical systems

Impact on the Ground

Tangible impact

ZEDBOX enables operators and households to prevent lightning-related electrical damage through real-time monitoring, early alerts, and automated disconnection of sensitive equipment. This reduces failures, service interruptions, and maintenance costs.

Contribution to digitalization and resilience

By combining connected sensors, cloud platforms, and AI-based analytics, ZEDBOX introduces predictive protection for infrastructures exposed to extreme weather risks, strengthening system resilience and reliability.

Key figures

• 15+ African countries exposed to lightning density above 18 strikes/km²/year
• Around 50,000 industrial and utility sites exposed to lightning risk
• Approximately 15 million households in high-risk zones without predictive protection
• Lightning detection range up to 40 km

Results so far

• Electronic prototype fully assembled and tested: https://youtu.be/SNeyfcgtdgU?si=0taSr6UqhuR74wQq
• Cloud infrastructure deployed, enabling real-time data transmission and monitoring
• Web platform developed for device supervision and data visualization: https://app.zedbox.net/
• Mobile application available for alerts and remote management
• Initial pilot deployments launched, including collaborations with mining and industrial sites

What’s next

ZEDBOX is preparing industrial pre-production of its first 50 units. The next phase focuses on pilot deployments with energy and telecom partners in West Africa and regional scaling.