Singapore’s WaveScan Technologies Pte Ltd has developed an innovative scanner system, utilising electromagnetics-based microwave and millimetre waves, for building and infrastructure inspections.
The company recently announced it has raised seven figures in funding from the first close of its seed round, and will primarily use the funds to launch the first version of this proprietary modular scanner system, which is designed to integrate with automated robotic platforms such as arms and crawlers.
WaveScan will also use the investments to test the drone version of its scanner for more focused applications, add more key team members and deliver on its committed full-scale projects slated for the year ahead.
The round is led by Silicon Solution Ventures (SSV), which is managed by Silicon Solution Partners (SSP). SSV is an appointed venture capital partner by Enterprise Singapore’s investment arm SEEDS Capital, who also joined this round.
The other investors include: Koji Ventures – the corporate VC arm of Dou Yee International; she1K global; KK39 Ventures – the CVC arm of Wee Hur Holdings; Plug & Play Venture Group, LLC; Plug & Play Singapore; and Leave A Nest Singapore.
WaveScan is an A*STAR spin-off company specialising in disruptive beamforming electromagnetics (EM) smart scanner systems with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Its technology enables a pre-emptive, instead of a reactive approach, to infrastructure maintenance.
The company’s wireless scanners utilise EM-based microwave and millimetre waves that can penetrate a variety of structural materials, including wood and concrete. Capable of high-resolution four-dimensional sensing, the EM waves are sent and received back to indicate building and infrastructural defects.
“Today, inspection and maintenance is a slow, costly and inefficient process, inhibiting stakeholders from raising their proactivity. With our solution, we seek to bring unprecedented levels of automation in all aspects of the inspection and defect analysis processes for defect tagging, and material classifications of the embedded structural infrastructure elements,” explained Dr Kush Agarwal, CEO and founder of WaveScan Technologies Pte Ltd.
“The support from our investors and key deep technology stakeholders is an expression of confidence in our vision and efforts - one that will enable a paradigm shift towards enabling accessible predictive maintenance solutions for myriad industries.”
WaveScan’s scanners are also enhanced by end-to-end, AI-enabled software for applications related to control, data processing, visualisation and analysis - allowing for objective assessments independent of human intervention. The reports generated from the solution’s application are then integrated with cloud-based technology for convenient access.
“WaveScan’s technology offers both hardware and AI data analytics capabilities. Its non-destructive inspection solution deployment has diverse applicability potential to various industries, inclusive of infrastructure. WaveScan’s numerous accolades and awards in deep technology and customer validation gives us confidence in their abilities and vision to expand on the company’s applications to enhance buildings, cities, and environments that are safer,” said David Ng, CEO of SSP.
After successes with local commercial property trials, WaveScan is embarking on projects that will impact the local domestic market by conducting structural, close-up facade and water leakage inspections. The company plans to engage in full-scale deployment and test-bedding on various ages of buildings with a view towards larger island-wide adoption. Following this funding round, Jagadish CV, ex-CEO of Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company Pte Ltd (SSMC) will be joining WaveScan as a board director.
WaveScan aims to collaborate with over 20 large infrastructure companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UK - in addition to currently conducting pilot trials in Europe and Japan. The company has also garnered interest from over 50 multinational companies including those in the transport (aerospace/railway) and oil & gas industries, besides infrastructure.
Along with being endorsed by various government agencies in Singapore, WaveScan has been the recipient of various awards and grants in Singapore and overseas. It has been featured in Built Environment sustainability initiatives and news, and is an awardee of Enterprise Singapore’s Startup SG Tech Proof of Value (POV) S$500,000 grant.
The company has also been the sector winner for Slingshot 2019 under the Urban Solutions, Sustainability & Energy category. This year, it was awarded the Singapore Management University (SMU) Chancellor Cup at the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition. Internationally, WaveScan was the Viva Technology 2019 Paris winner with Vinci, Europe’s largest infrastructure company. It was also one of the Top 10 global winners for the 2020 Cemex Ventures Construction Startup Competition.
