July 6th 2023
€2.5m for AI platform that inspects critical assets such as bridges and oil platforms
German company Twinsity awarded funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator (EIC) to take forward its Twinspect platform.
Critical assets and infrastructure – such as bridges, buildings, dams, and oil and gas refineries – need careful and constant monitoring. This can be a time-consuming and costly business if done in person, and there are safety issues to in clambering about over such large structures. Those in charge of inspecting these vital assets have increasingly used drones to carry out such work.
Photo by Vivid_Cafe
In some ways, drones have worked too well, amassing huge volumes of data that must then be managed and analysed.
Founded in 2020, Twinsity was established to create cost-effective yet complete visual documentation of these complex structures – so-called ‘digital twins’. AI and machine learning are then applied to keep the assets in continuous inspection. By speeding up the process and spotting potential issues quickly, Twinsity’s Twinspect platform effectively extends the lifetime of a given asset and in the process cuts CO2 emissions.
A digital twin is a more advanced version of a simulation. An object or system is represented virtually and kept updated with rich and real-time data – keeping in step with any changes to its real-life counterpart.
Through Twinspect, users have access to a comprehensive overview of assets, a full inspection history and insights to aid accurate decision-making and proactive maintenance planning. They can inspect and document physical infrastructure 10 times faster than with visual inspections.
The new funding awarded by the European Innovation Council Accelerator will be used to enhance the company’s core technologies, accelerate research and development efforts, and expand its team.
The EIC Accelerator supports breakthrough innovation, with substantial funding for innovative companies that have ideas with exceptional market potential and the ability to revolutionise industries. Provided by the European Union, it combines financial assistance and support services to enable companies to take risks, develop pioneering technologies and contribute to a sustainable economy.
Fabien Chalas, Founder and CEO of Twinsity, says: ‘We are incredibly honoured to receive this funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, as it reflects the immense potential of our AI-based automated inspection platform. This investment will fuel our mission to transform the way large infrastructure is inspected and maintained, ultimately increasing operational safety and minimising risk. We are excited to continue empowering industries to thrive in a safer and more efficient manner.’
Theo Woik, Managing Partner of C3 Venture Capital, Twinsity’s first institutional investor, adds: ‘We were convinced from the beginning that Twinspect would be able to automate most of the work associated with large-scale infrastructure inspections. Twinspect has the potential to transform the infrastructure inspection industry, both by reducing costs 10-fold and by predicting maintenance needs on a regular basis. Digital twins captured by drones combined with AI-driven analytics will be the industry standard in the near future; with the strong support of the EIC, Twinsity is advancing the industry.’
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