Collision-tolerant inspection drones for confined, inaccessible industrial environments
Flyability SA
Paudex (Switzerland) · Denver, CO (USA) · Shanghai (China) · SingaporeNew on Amplifa
About Flyability
Flyability SA was founded in 2014 as a spin-off of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and its Laboratory of Intelligent Systems. The company develops and manufactures collision-tolerant indoor inspection drones, above all the Elios series. The Elios 3 is equipped with a protective cage, a modular payload system, Lidar, a 4K camera and autonomous navigation, and is used for visual inspection, 3D mapping and surveying in confined spaces such as tanks, chimneys, pipelines and industrial facilities. The product portfolio also includes the Elios 2 (4K and thermal camera, 10,000 lumen lighting, GPS-free stabilization), the UT payload for ultrasonic wall thickness measurement, a flammable gas sensor, the Tether Power Unit for continuous operation, and the Flyability Cloud data management solution. The drones are used in industries such as oil & gas, chemicals, mining, power generation, nuclear power, water management and shipping. The company, headquartered in Paudex near Lausanne, employs more than 120 staff and serves customers in more than 50 countries with over 2,750 delivered drones through a network of distributors in 27 countries.
- Site
- Paudex
- Processes
- Remote Visual Inspection (drone-based, collision-tolerant Elios 3 drone), 3D Mapping / Surveying (Lidar-based), Wall thickness measurement (UT payload, A-scans, ultrasonic), Flammable gas detection (gas sensor payload), Thermography inspection (thermal camera), 4K close-up inspection (resolution 0.18 mm/px), 2D measurement and 3D modeling / photogrammetry (digital twin), Training (Introductory, AIIM, Photogrammetry)
- Materials
- Elios 3, Elios 2, Elios 3 UT Payload, Flammable Gas Sensor, Tether Power Unit, High-Capacity Battery, Flyability Cloud
- Certificates
- SOC 2 Type II
- Founded
- 2014
- Employees
- 120+
- 01
Research & Development
- 02
Drone & payload product development
- 03
Assembly of drone systems
- 04
Sales via distributors in 27 countries
- 05
Training (Introductory, AIIM, Photogrammetry)
- 06
Maintenance & support via Authorized Service Centers
- 07
Cloud data management (Flyability Cloud)
Technologies & Processes
Elios 3
Collision-tolerant indoor inspection drone with protective cage, Lidar, 4K camera and modular payload system for Remote Visual Inspection and 3D mapping.
Elios 2
Indoor inspection drone with 4K and thermal camera, 10,000 lumen lighting, GPS-free stabilization and distance lock 30–200 cm.
Elios 3 UT Payload
Ultrasonic payload for safe, remotely controlled wall thickness measurement with A-scan data.
Flammable Gas Sensor
Payload for real-time warning of flammable gases during inspections.
Tether Power Unit
Mains power unit with tether for continuous power supply during sustained operation.
High-Capacity Battery
Battery option with up to 50 % more flight time.
Flyability Cloud
Cloud solution for securely sharing and collaboratively using Elios 3 inspection data.
Locations
Paudex, Route du Lac 3
CHHeadquarters with development and production
- Elios 3
- Elios 2
- Tether Power Unit
- High-Capacity Battery
- Elios 3 UT Payload
- Flammable Gas Sensor
- Flyability Cloud
Denver, CO
USUSA office
Shanghai
CNChina office
Singapore
SGSingapore office
Products & Solutions
Inside the production
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Visual Inspection (drone-based, collision-tolerant Elios 3 drone)Inspection | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3D Mapping / Surveying (Lidar-based)Inspection | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wall thickness measurement (UT payload, A-scans, ultrasonic)Inspection | – | – | – | – | – |
| Flammable gas detection (gas sensor payload)Inspection | – | – | – | – | – |
| Thermography inspection (thermal camera)Inspection | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4K close-up inspection (resolution 0.18 mm/px)Inspection | 0.18 mm/px | – | – | – | – |
| 2D measurement and 3D modeling / photogrammetry (digital twin)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
7 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indoor inspection drone (collision-tolerant, with protective cage, modular payload, Lidar, 4K | Flyability Elios 3 | – | – | – | Paudex, Lausanne (HQ) |
| – | Flyability Elios 2 | – | Dimension < 40 cm (< 15.7 in); distance lock 30–200 cm (1–6 ft); speed 5 m/s | – | Paudex, Lausanne (HQ) |
| Tether Power Unit (mains power unit with tether for continuous operation) | Flyability Tether Power Unit | – | – | – | – |
| High-Capacity Battery (+50% flight time) | Flyability High-Capacity Battery | – | – | – | – |
| UT Payload (ultrasonic wall thickness measurement) | Flyability Elios 3 UT Payload | – | – | – | – |
| Flammable Gas Sensor | Flyability Flammable Gas Sensor | – | – | – | – |
| Cloud Data Management Solution | Flyability Flyability Cloud | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Certification
Flyability has completed the SOC 2 Type II audit for its cloud data management solution Flyability Cloud. The products are maintained and supported through a network of trained distributors with Authorized Service Centers.
| Evidence | Paudex |
|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II |
History
- 2014
Founded as a spin-off of EPFL (Laboratory of Intelligent Systems)
- 2017
EY Award Entrepreneurs of the Year
- 2019
Top 100 Swiss Startup Award – Best Swiss Startup
- 2021
Airwards Inspection Surveying Award
- 2023
Innovation Award, World Nuclear Exhibition
- 2025
UT Safety Award, Offshore Support Journal