About

VERTLINER is a field robotics company developing autonomous robotic aerial systems for the precise indoor assessment of assets. We start our focus on the construction industry, one of the world's largest but also most inefficient industries. There are estimates that nearly 20% of every construction project is reworked due to a low degree of accuracy and precision between the initial drawings and the actual building. The problem of rework is so widespread that the industry operates on an average 1~2% margin. The root of this problem stems from the fact that the construction industry is still relying on tools and processes developed decades ago to tackle the problem of precision. Particularly, the stakeholders of the AEC sector (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) need to sustain physical access to project sites, in order to acquire the as-built information of the building asset during the pre-installation and post-installation phases, as part of a digitalised supply chain process. The main indoor areas that require high precision information, include indoor application systems such as heat, ventilation, air-conditioning and elevators systems.

Solution & Product

Precision construction offers added value to contractors providing building assets. A niche market of such assets is referring to indoor systems, a key vertical market of the construction industry. The building asset's assessment is a thorough, lengthy and risky process, disconnected from the construction progress, requiring contractors to physically visit each area to survey dimensions, structural deviations and anomalies, to ensure the provision of a system compliant with the building’s physical specifications. The solution introduces a unified system consisting of an Autonomous unmanned aerial system (UAS), a cloud-based service and a set of custom developed AI algorithms to digitalize hard-to-reach building assets by traversing confined spaces not easily reachable by humans for collecting, analyzing, and delivering structural data in a ready-to-use format. The solution allows remote access to spatial info, while the collected data are analysed to the cloud via a 4G/5G networks, generating the asset's 'as-built' building information model (BIM).

Innovation & Scalability

The company fills the digital gap of the value chain between the main building contractor, installation/maintenance service providers and equipment manufacturers, offering productivity gains through autonomous assessment, safer operations, and compliant communication amongst stakeholders. Growth potential lies in (1) cutting-edge innovation and (2) scalable business model. The patent-pending solution of the autonomous industry-focused indoor operation embeds perception, cognition, safe and environment-aware navigation, as well as an integrated approach of 5G communication capabilities and cloud-based interoperability. The scalable business model establishes a digital ecosystem in the form of a marketplace, where the 'as-built' attributes of building assets utilised as profit-driving elements, matching the interests of key stakeholders around the building asset.

Traction & achievements

VERTLINER has built solid traction on its business proposition, by achieving the following strategic milestones: - qualified to the Finals of the "MIT Enterprise Forum Greece" innovation competition. - awarded the 'Seal of Excellence' by the European Commission. - established in the Technology Park of Attica "Leukippos" at the campus of "Demokritos" National Centre of Scientific Research. - qualified in the 8th cohort of the 'EGG Accelerator', the largest startup initiative in Greece. - awarded a European grant for the protection of its IP with a patent filing to the European Patent Office. - awarded the entrepreneurship grant of 'Elevate Greece' by the Greek government. - qualified in the largest International Pre-Seed startup accelerator "Founder's Institute" in Switzerland. - granted patent on a PCT level.

Team & Why Us

The core team of VERTLINER consists of 2 business professionals and 3 robotic engineers, while it is backed up by 2 senior advisors possessing more than 25 years of technical and commercial expertise in indoor application systems and construction. It is the high degree of commitment and expertise that makes Vertliner a highly promising deep-tech startup. The core team members are briefly described below: 1. Michael Striligás, Founder/CEO: He holds a BSc. Computing, MSc. e-Business, MSc. Business IT Systems and the Global Executive MBA by the University of Manchester. He excelled in management and commercial operations positions in IT, Retail & Manufacturing. He possesses a total of 16 years of business experience of which 7 years in the vertical transportation sector, with extensive experience in business development activities at 25 markets in the EMEA/APAC region. 2. Petros Tsampiras, Senio Robotic Engineer: He holds an M.Eng in Robotics & Automation from Imperial College London. He possesses more than 5 years of R&D experience in Robotics and Autonomous unmanned aerial systems. 3. Eleni Moraiti, Legal Counsel/DPO: She holds an LL.B and LL.M from Shanghai Jiao-Tong University, while she excelled as an in-house lawyer in the areas of International Business, Trade and Investment Law. The coherent team of Vertliner is the starting point of its growth strategy, but the sustainable path is framed by the deep knowledge of the target market we are referring to.

Funding Needs

The company is under an ongoing fundraising process in Seed phase, for the purposes of increasing the specialization of its team with high calibre talents, while to commercially launch its operational iteration in core European markets.