Award winning Queensland company Voltin has developed automated technology that takes the guess work out of building safety. With an unparalleled ability to locate and identify issues, Voltin's Façade Defect Detection system not only ensures the safety of structures but also contributes to their efficiency and longevity.
In recent years, structural disasters or faults such as Grenfell Towers in London, the Champlain Tower in Miami, and the Opal and Mascot Towers in Sydney have resulted in tragic loss of life or led to considerable financial losses for the building owners.
Voltin Founder and Director Steve Thornton believes there are very few high-rise buildings immune to defects anywhere in the world.
“We believe the current process of defect detection which relies on people hanging from ropes and performing visual inspections is very outdated,” Steve said.
“It is slow, costly and error prone. There had to be a better way.”
Steve identified a gap in the market for a professional technology-based condition assessment system.
“Our vision is to create 10,000 safer cities,” he said.
Voltin launched its AutoBAT 1.0 data capture device in 2020, using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tech alongside satellite location information to provide comprehensive assessment reports and maintenance schedules. Drones were not a suitable solution due to restrictions on their use in populated or controlled airspace.
In 2022, the Commonwealth Government changed the national building code, requiring all commercial building owners to certify a building façade’s structural safety and integrity every five years.
In 2023, the company upgraded the tech with the release of the AutoBAT 3.0.
“Our core team of mechatronic engineers worked closely with QUT Design Engineers and the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub at Northgate, converting a concept into reality,” Steve said.
“We have created an innovative, dynamic technology with real world application that is low-cost, allowing safe, detailed façade assessments of multi-storey commercial and residential towers in densely populated areas.
“We have had approaches from interested parties all around the world including Dubai, Abu Dabi, Bahrain, India and the US.”
The AutoBAT device is deployed by lowering or elevating it down the façade of a building using a boom or Building Maintenance Unit.
It then uses thermal and RGB cameras that capture light in red, green and blue wavelengths to take hundreds of images per minute to detect anomalies and defects within the building façade. A propellor system ensures the device remains on a steady flight path.
The advantage of this tech is that a full building scan can take hours instead of days, enabling AutoBAT to do it in a third of the time and at a considerably lower cost than other methods.
“Using the Voltin system is much like giving a building an MRI,” Steve said.
“The data is analysed using AI, providing clients with a comprehensive 2D or 3D audit of the inspected building, reported in an online portal for easy client access and assessment.”
Voltin’s clever tech can detect over 50 types of building defects, ranging from water penetration and corrosion to surface cracks, concrete cracking, and paint peeling.
The technology is recognised as groundbreaking, winning the industry ‘4.0 Award’ at the InnovationAus 2023 Awards for Excellence in Sydney in November 2023 and also winning ‘International Product of the Year’ at the Façade 2023 Design and Engineering Awards in London.
Through Voltin’s strategic alliances with insurer, risk mitigation and building consultancy firm Sedgwick, and global real estate management organisation International Real Estate Partners (IREP), they have access to over 80 markets worldwide.
In 2022, Voltin received $100,000 Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas funding to help them commercialise their technology and they now employ 10 people with plans to expand in the near future.
As a funding recipient, Steve took part in the Advance Queensland Ignite+ program and was among the 56 Queensland enterprises in the first cohort to graduate.
“Trade and Investment Queensland and the Advance Queensland Ignite+ program have been excellent support for tech companies like ours,” Steve said.
“We thank the government for this assistance – it has been vital.”
Ignite+ is a tailored business program that provides eligible startup and scaleup enterprises with practical support and professional development, including tailored mentoring and connections to experts specifically selected to align with their business priorities.
Learn more about the support available to innovative enterprises, startups and scaleups.
