Picture : Thanks to its on-board battery, the 50 kg, one-meter-long ROVéo can run for eight hours non-stop.

ROVéo is a land-based drone like no other. This technological masterpiece can spot intruders, detect fires, even at the incipient stage, and perform night-time security patrols. It is not surprising that major players in the Swiss and international security and safety industry have already expressed interest in this robot. According to Thomas Estier, the Managing Director of Rovenso, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) spin-off which developed the prototype, “We are already working with several large-scale providers and we plan to launch it on the market by 2022.”

With its articulated chassis, which was inspired by space exploration robotic vehicles, ROVéo has a huge edge over its competitors. Its four-wheel design allows it to negotiate stairs and steps with ease and travel over rough terrain. “The real innovation is the passive chassis. To put it simply, the robot is able to adapt to the given terrain without using artificial intelligence and with minimal computing resources. Many of our prospective customers really like this highly effective approach to solving a complex problem”, notes the former space robotics researcher. “We hold an exclusive license to use this patented EPFL technology. It is the perfect example of technology transfer in practice.”

Tapping into open source

The onboard system features a laser radar that maps the environment in the 3D, enabling the robotic security guard to find its way accurately and with no outside help. As Thomas Estier explains, “Our development work drew heavily on open source data, which is itself a form of tech transfer. We also plan to give back to the open source community by publishing a document on the subject in the very near future.”

The machine learning capabilities related to the use of thermal and infrared cameras mounted on ROVéo for detecting anomalies could soon become a stand-alone Innosuisse project involving Rovenso and a number of academic partners.

The start-up, which was founded in 2016, has been based at Le Vivier technology park since March 2019, a stone’s throw away from its largest investor, the Nivalis Group. Rovenso’s managing director is delighted that Le Vivier offers the right conditions for the company to grow, “As well as the synergies we have already forged with other companies, including several specializing in automation and artificial intelligence, we still have so much to learn from them when it comes to processes. It’s a really rewarding experience.”