PORTFOLIO

Aithon Robotics enables safer and more cost-effective access to critical infrastructure by merging aerial mobility with the capabilities of a robotic arm. Ageing infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, and large-scale facilities increasingly require complex inspection and maintenance tasks often in hard-to-reach or hazardous areas. Conventional access methods like scaffolding and bridge inspection vehicles are slow, costly, and pose significant safety risks.
Our solution is a novel UAV platform capable of both free flight and stable surface attachment, allowing it to carry out high-force, high-precision tasks directly on vertical to overhead surfaces. Aithon’s drone performs jobs such as core sampling, ground-penetrating radar scans, sensor installation, and structural repair all while keeping workers safely on the ground and minimizing downtime. Aithon Robotics not only lowers operational costs but also improves inspection quality and asset longevity. The drone is rented to specialized inspection service providers (Robotics-as-a-Service), who integrate it directly into their own inspection and maintenance work.

During the InnoBooster project (October 2025 – October 2026), Aithon Robotics moved from early pilot deployments to a company. In field missions on bridges and industrial structures in Switzerland and other European countries the drone carried out core sampling, ground-penetrating radar scans and other non-destructive testing, including working at heights of more than 50 m. In October 2026, Aithon Robotics AG was incorporated as a spin-off from ETH Zürich.
The missions confirmed the demand for safer access, but also showed that carrying out every mission ourselves does not scale. Aithon therefore adapted its business model: instead of selling on-site services, it rents the drone to specialized inspection service providers, who operate it as part of their own work. Five drone operators and inspection service providers have signed letters of intent for this rental model, and a first customer from the wind energy sector is preparing to go operational in 2027. Technical and commercial partnerships support the integration of inspection sensors and access to the market.
Next steps are certification, the first rental customers in the first half of 2027, and a seed financing round in 2027.