Is it a bird? Is it a BEAR? Start-up’s robot takes flight in Macquarie Park

Ever considered the challenges of working at great heights? A local start-up have designed a robot that can scale buildings safely – and it recently took its first flight in Macquarie Park.

Defy-Hi - a resident start-up at the CSIRO Lindfield Collaboration Hub - were the subject of Connect MPID’s inaugural “How I Made This” innovator case study video in 2022. Now, their innovation is ready for market.

Property owners are mandated to conduct thorough facade inspections every 5 years. Currently, this potentially dangerous work is done by rope access engineers who rappel down high-rise buildings, manually checking for safety and maintenance issues.

Dr Abbie Widin, Defy-Hi CEO and Co-Founder, believes the best way to keep people safe at heights is to eliminate the risk entirely. Enter the BEAR (Building Envelope Access Robot) - a roof-mounted, portable robot that travels up and down high-rise buildings scanning for potential defects - without putting humans in a harness or cradle.

Connect MPID recently dropped-in to 1 Julius Avenue to witness the first deployment of this technology in Macquarie Park innovation district. The ‘test flight’ comes as Defy-Hi prepares for the first commercial application of the BEAR in Q1 of this year.

“Currently, façade inspectors only take photos of problems, but sometimes they miss things. It’s very difficult to answer the question “Was this crack here last inspection?” if they didn’t take a photo of it.”

“The BEAR takes photos of everything, geo-located to the facade. Then our own AI is used to get speedy insights on potential defects, with a customer-facing dashboard to manage the portfolio that can help predict maintenance”, says Dr Widin.

“Our robot works very well where you can’t fly drones – like busy CBDs. It goes over the side of the building on a standalone, portable purpose-built roof mounting system.”

Since featuring in Connect MPID’s “How I Made This” series in early 2022, the team at Defy-Hi have grown – as has their robot. The expanding team of mechanical, robotic and software engineers are currently working on their third iteration of the BEAR.

Another highlight includes the BEAR securing its first paid jobs with property giant CBRE.

“We have been astonished at how much customer interest there is. There isn’t a single property owner or facility manager that is happy with how the building envelope is accessed today”, said Dr Widin.

As long-held assets get older and new developments get taller, Defy-Hi believe the time is right for AI-driven tools to enter the market.

Defy-Hi uses AI tools to help with speed-to-insight, allowing inspectors to find and diagnose problems faster. Over time, AI will also be used for predictive condition-based maintenance to plan out capital works over years or even decades.