- €50kSeedcorn funding secured
- 3complete drone designs 3D-printed
- Liveoperation inside under-pressure trunk mains
Overview
Waterworx Robotics set out to develop an autonomous drone capable of long-range inspections inside live, under-pressure water trunk mains, combining multiple sensors to set a new standard for water infrastructure inspection.
Problem
Live, pressurised mains
The drone had to operate reliably inside water mains that stay in service.
Off-the-shelf parts
Existing components needed to work together as one cohesive product.
Tight dimensions and waterproofing
Compact premade components left very little room to seal everything against water and pressure.
Process
Designed the central control hub that unifies the drone’s components, and engineered the interconnects between off-the-shelf parts to create a single, functional product.
Developed custom waterproofing systems to keep the drone reliable in extreme conditions, working around the compact size and tight dimensional constraints of the premade components.
Completed 3D prints of three entire drone designs to validate the concepts physically, and produced high-quality renders for funding presentations – working alongside the core team throughout.
Solution
The prototype and concept design delivered:
€50,000 in funding
Secured from Seedcorn, supporting Waterworx Robotics’ growth and further product development.
Proven feasibility
Physical prototypes and detailed renders clearly showed what the design could do.
Foundations for partnerships
A strong base for future advances in water infrastructure technology.
3D-printed prototypes and detailed renders played a crucial role in securing the funding, by clearly conveying the design’s feasibility and potential.