COMPANY

Name: Radii Robotics

Legal Name: Radii Robotics, Inc

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Founded: March 2016

Founder(s): Minh Chau and Anshuo Liu

Website: https://www.radiirobotics.com/ 

Social Media: 117 followers on LinkedIn, 31 followers on Twitter

Industry: Global Commercial Drone Market

Size: $14B in 2018 (Source: Research and Markets)

Future: $43B by 2024 (Source: Research and Markets)

Introduction

Radii Robotics has created an aerial robotics platform that conducts autonomous inspection of large commercial structures. Its powerful flight algorithm software and proprietary aerial robots work together to conduct visual and subsurface inspections of these high-altitude structures – thus replacing manual labor.

The Product

Inspekt is a flying robotic system that is the flagship product of Radii Robotics. This device makes it possible to autonomously, or on-demand, inspect large commercial structures for defects.

Unlike traditional drones, Inspekt can make surface contact with the structure for sub-surface non-destructive testing (NDT) and aerodynamic cleaning. It also works quite well indoors, since it’s not dependant on GPS, but has its own proprietary navigation system. 

Currently, Radii Robotics’ platform can be applied to other areas such as inspecting wind turbines, oil refineries, commercial aircraft, and transmission lines for structural wear and tear. Inspekt even has ultrasonic (UT) probes that, like X-rays, help identify subsurface structural damages.

The company even offers an online portal that clients can use to analyze inspection data and reports.

Origin and Founding Team

Radii Robotics was started by aerospace engineer, Anshuo Liu, and former investment banker, Minh Chau. 

Chau, from a very early age as a Vietnamese refugee in the Philippines, understood the value of entrepreneurship from his older brother who used to run profitable small businesses to earn petty cash. He then moved to the US and went on to set up his career in the WallStreet. Then, he went on to launch a startup accelerator program called 5at6 Accelerator. 

Liu, as told to MiLA Capital, was a big believer in drone technology. But he also felt that there wasn’t yet a drone-like device that could get things done in more rugged terrain. He believed that the drone should not just fly but also interact with people and things. 

Eventually, in 2016, the two immigrants came together and created “a gimbal system to balance lopsided weight, allowing drones to put meaningful payloads up against a vertical service in order to carry out simple tasks.”

Performance and Trends

In January 2018, Radii Robotics became part of Make in LA’s Hardware Accelerator Class5.