Ukrainian startup Ultra-botics, which develops software in the field of non-destructive testing for hardware, plans to launch its first project together with Ukrzaliznytsia this summer. dev.ua spoke with Ultra-botics founder Serhiy Brandis and learned more about the product and how it can be used in the defense tech industry.
Ukrainian startup Ultra-botics, which develops software in the field of non-destructive testing for hardware, plans to launch its first project together with Ukrzaliznytsia this summer. dev.ua spoke with Ultra-botics founder Serhiy Brandis and learned more about the product and how it can be used in the defense tech industry.
Ultra-botics explains that non-destructive testing is a method of detecting defects in metal products without damaging them. For this, a special virtual representation of the object is formed — a defectogram.
«Our startup uses an AI assistant that helps automatically highlight areas on the defectogram where there is a high probability of a defect. This significantly saves time for specialists who monitor objects, because they do not need to analyze the entire defectogram manually», — Serhiy Brandis told dev.ua.
He noted that the second important direction is the storage of data about the object, which allows creating its digital twin. This opens up new opportunities for monitoring and predicting the state of the object in the future.
The project is currently in the pre-seed stage. The founder of Ultra-botics says that there are already preliminary agreements with the first customers, according to which they provide their data so that the startup can test its AI assistant on real defectograms. This allows not only to check the effectiveness of the algorithms, but also to adapt them to real production scenarios.
«We are also actively collecting feedback from non-destructive testing professionals to make the product as useful and convenient as possible for professional use», — Brandis notes.
In addition to him, the team also includes a CTO (Technical Director) and a Software Engineer (Software Developer). The founder and CTO have about 12 years of experience in NDT. All members have experience in developing solutions for industrial tasks, artificial intelligence, and technical data processing.
Ultra-botics has not yet attracted grants and investments, and has already spent about $20,000 on the project.
Monetization of their product involves a subscription that will be individual for each client and each terminal. Its cost will depend on several factors:
«We plan to create a flexible pricing model that will take into account the real needs of the client», — assures Serhiy Brandis.
According to him, at first the team will focus exclusively on the railway industry, since the startup has practical experience in the field of non-destructive testing of railway tracks.
Ultra-botics was one of the startups that participated in the WinWin Deep Tech Accelerator, where they spent 3 months learning how to work with big data, attract partners, analyze the market, and build competitive business models and go-to-market strategies.
«Thanks to participation in the WinWin Deep Tech Accelerator, we saw new opportunities for scaling. Our solution can be effectively adapted to other areas,» the Founder told the startup.
Among these areas, he named:
According to Brandis, this is a gradual transition from narrow specialization to a universal solution that can be integrated into different industries with similar needs for defect detection and creating digital models of objects.
He added that the startup is also considering the possibility of applying its solution in the field of defense tech. In particular, the possibilities of inspecting ground robotic complexes (GRCs) to detect technical defects in structures or critical components, as well as armor for combat vehicles to detect microcracks, damage or wear that could affect safety are being discussed.
«We are currently in the negotiation phase with defense companies.
This allows us to better understand the needs of this sector and adapt the technology to the specific requirements of military infrastructure,» says Serhiy Brandis.
Ultra-botics' immediate plans include launching its first pilot project this summer with Ukrzaliznytsia, which Brandis calls its main client. This stage will allow the startup to test the solution in real-world conditions at infrastructure facilities.
«Next, we plan to deepen cooperation with the defense industry. Our artificial intelligence system is capable of helping in the more effective use of large strategic facilities — both in the civilian and military spheres», — said the founder of Ultra-botics.
In his opinion, such technologies will play an important role in the country’s recovery and modernization of Ukrainian production.
