Alstom Inspection Robotics
www.inspection‐robotics.com
Short description of the organization
ALSTOM Inspection Robotics AG (AIR) is a spin‐off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), set up as a joint venture between ALSTOM (Switzerland) Ltd and ETHZ. AIR provides operators of large‐scale industrial facilities such as power plants and refineries with tailored mobile inspection robots enabling them to minimize outages and maintenance times, and enhance environmental and workplace safety. AIR was founded in late 2006 and has started operation in January 2007. The company, having 22 employees at the moment, is continuously growing with the industrialization, production and deployment of ETHZ/EPFL and Alstom research results.
More than 100 systems are out in the field spread all over the world. Besides mobile robotics, flying inspection robots are in the scope of AIR. In particular, based on the EU Project AIRobots, a flying boiler inspection system is in final industrialization.
Role in the project and main tasks
AIR provides inspection robotic systems to Power Generation Field
Service and Oil&Gas inspection service operator. Hence the role in AEROARMS is the role of a system
provider, in this particular case of the mobile robotic system assembled and maintained by the AEROARMS system. As AIR has a deep knowledge of inspection and maintenance procedures and requirements AIR is involved together with ALSTOM (subcontractor) in the System Specification and the system design.ALSTOM will provide access to a plant for system testing and validation.
AIR acts further as the leader of tasks T2.2 Redesign and adaptation and T8.2 Deploying, Operation
and Maintenance of a mobile robot, and is heavily involved in WP9.
Relevant previous experience
AIR Alstom Inspection Robotics is the prime mover in the field of robotic inspection based on autonomous mobile robotic systems and has secured its position by patenting the strategic technology in the field of power generating industry, oil & gas up‐/mid‐/downstream facilities and maritime industry. AIR has started to use flying inspections systems for the visual inspection of oil‐/gas facilities and is project partner in the EU Project AIRobots and ARCAS. Within the field of flying inspection AIR acts as a system integrator by integration inspection technology onto state of the art flying systems.