aRoboticsCompany designs, manufactures, and operates robotic systems that perform work on the interiors and exteriors of large and/or significant assets and structures (skyscrapers, historical buildings, warehouses, bridges, tunnels, roadways, etc.). We specialize in making machines that optimize most required work for such structures, primarily: regulatory inspections, structural analysis, leak tracing, cleaning, and repair, Our services are utilized by a range of clients including engineering firms, property managers, and government agencies in need of a safer and faster alternative for rapid inspection. Our inspection technologies have received several industry awards/validations. aRc won the 2020 NYC Department of Buildings Innovation Challenge and the Propel by MPIM 2022 Business Competition. We were among 30 companies chosen for the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the Northern Atlantic (DIANA) cohort, out of 1,300 submissions across North America and Europe in 2024.
Real-Time Weld Inspection Tool (RTWIT)
Problem Statement:
- Shrinking pool of certified weld inspectors extends shipyard availabilities
- Visual inspections miss sub-surface or geometry defects until costly rework is required
- Paper-based QA slows turnover and burdens sailors with manual data entry
- Confined spaces aboard vessels limit tripod-mounted NDT tools and external lighting
Technology Solution Statement:
The Real-Time Weld Inspection Tool (RTWIT) (pronounced “Rit-Wit”) is a self-contained, goggle-mounted augmented-reality system that turns a maintainer’s line of sight into a precision scanner. A fused time-of-flight depth camera and UV-Vis spectrometer capture 3-D geometry and arc chemistry at 30 frames s-1; onboard processing flags defects and projects corrective prompts directly onto the visor.
The sealed IP-67 headset runs six hours on internal batteries, records geotagged inspections offline, and shrugs off electromagnetic interference common around shipyard power tools. Eye-tracking lets operators pick measurement points hands-free, automatically delivering ±2 mm gauge readings and crater-volume estimates, even in total darkness.
Benefits Statement:
- Cuts weld rework hours by up to 50 % in civilian shipyard and Army depot trials
- Slashes inspection cycle time from 20 min to <5 min per joint
- Reduces dependence on Level III NDT billets, freeing scarce expertise for critical tasks
- Creates tamper-proof digital records aligned with NAVSEA Condition-Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+) goals
