Voliro develops flying robots for drone-based non-destructive testing (NDT) of industrial facilities
Voliro AG
Zurich (CH)New on Amplifa
About Voliro
Voliro AG is a spin-off of ETH Zurich headquartered in Zurich, specializing in drone-based non-destructive material testing (NDT). Its core product is the omnidirectional flying robot Voliro T with tiltable rotors, which can stably apply up to 30 N of force to structures, enabling sensors to be guided in direct contact with surfaces. For wall thickness and coating measurement, interchangeable sensor payloads are available: ultrasonic (UT, High Temp UT up to 260 °C), EMAT, Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC), and DFT for measuring protective coating thickness, plus LPS testing of lightning protection systems. Application areas include chimneys, silos, tanks, boiler walls, transmission towers, steel bridges and wind turbines. Customers come from oil & gas, the cement and building materials industry, energy & utilities, and infrastructure; the system is in use in 17 countries, with around 100 inspections per month.
- Site
- Zurich
- Processes
- Drone-enabled non-destructive testing (NDT) with Voliro T, EMAT (Electromagnetic acoustic transducer) wall thickness measurement, UT (Ultrasonic Transducer) wall thickness measurement, Echo-to-Echo and Pulsed Echo with live A-Scan, High Temp UT (Ultrasonic Transducer) at 0 – 260 °C / 32 – 500 °F, LPS (Lightning Protection System) inspection, Drone-enabled Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Inspections with the Voliro T aerial robotics platform, Wall thickness measurement (UT, High Temp UT, EMAT, PEC, DFT)
- Materials
- Aluminum, Low carbon steel, Ultrasonic (UT / High Temp UT), EMAT (electromagnetic transducer), Pulsed Eddy Current, DFT (Dry Film Thickness), LPS Inspection, Unalloyed Steel (low carbon steel)
- Founded
- 2019
- Industries
- Oil & Gas, Cement and Building Materials Industry, Energy & Utilities (wind, solar, thermal, nuclear), Infrastructure, Wind Power, Infrastructure (transmission towers, steel bridges, water towers)
- 01
Inquiry and scoping of the inspection assignment
- 02
Selection of the sensor payload (UT, EMAT, PEC, DFT, LPS)
- 03
Preparation and automated flight with the Voliro T
- 04
On-site contact inspection of the structure
- 05
Evaluation of the measurement data
- 06
Preparation and handover of the inspection report
Testing Methods & Sensors
Ultrasonic (UT / High Temp UT)
Wall thickness measurement 4–150 mm with live A-Scan according to EN 12668-1 and ISO 16831:2012; High Temp UT usable up to 260 °C.
EMAT (electromagnetic transducer)
For corroded and contaminated surfaces up to 4 mm lift-off, range 2–150 mm, compliant with ASTM E1816-18.
Pulsed Eddy Current
Relative wall thickness measurement for aluminum cladding and unalloyed steel, lift-off up to 100 mm, wall thickness 3–18 mm.
DFT (Dry Film Thickness)
Coating thickness measurement by magnetic induction and eddy current in the range 0 to 1500 µm or 700 µm respectively.
LPS Inspection
Testing of lightning protection systems, e.g. on wind turbines.
Unalloyed Steel (low carbon steel)
Typical inspection material for PEC wall thickness measurement on assets such as chimneys and tanks.
Aluminum
Aluminum cladding is inspected using PEC.
Locations
Zurich
CHHeadquarters, development and sales
- Voliro T omnidirectional inspection drone
- Sensor payloads UT, EMAT, PEC, DFT, LPS
Inspection Tasks & Assets
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drone-enabled non-destructive testing (NDT) with Voliro TTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| EMAT (Electromagnetic acoustic transducer) wall thickness measurementTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| UT (Ultrasonic Transducer) wall thickness measurement, Echo-to-Echo and Pulsed Echo with live A-ScanTesting | Resolution 0.06 mm | – | – | – | – |
| High Temp UT (Ultrasonic Transducer) at 0 – 260 °C / 32 – 500 °FTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Testing | – | – | – | – | Aluminum, low carbon steel |
| Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| LPS (Lightning Protection System) inspectionTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
3 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omnidirectional inspection drone / aerial robotic platform with tiltable rotors | Voliro Voliro T | – | – | – | – |
| Inspection drone (LiDAR/mapping) | Flyability Elios 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Inspection drone | DJI Matrice 30 | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
History
- 2016
Project start at the Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) of ETH Zurich to develop an omnidirectional flying robot
- 2019
Founding of Voliro AG with support from Wyss Zurich (ETH Zurich / University of Zurich)
- 2022
Launch of the Voliro T flying robot and validation with early adopters such as Shell, Petronas and Holcim
- 2023
Commercial launch (General Availability); adoption by NDT companies such as Mistras, Acuren and Team Inc.