27.02.2025
– Pioneering the Future of Underground Construction with the Vienna Metro Project –
In recent years, the construction industry has been accelerating the adoption of automation and digital twin technology, driving demand for high-precision surveying data. Against this backdrop, Spiral Europe and GEODATA have conducted a groundbreaking demonstration experiment to evaluate the potential of autonomous drone solutions for 3D survey in tunnel construction sites.
Drones typically rely on GPS for autonomous navigation, but in underground environments such as tunnels, GPS signals are unavailable. As a result, no existing drone solutions have fully achieved autonomous flight in such conditions. To address this challenge, Spiral Europe FlexCo’s parent company, Spiral Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) has developed a proprietary marker-based guidance system, MarkFlex®Air, which enables drones to navigate using wall-mounted AR markers that contain the flight order information.
MarkFlex®Air
Drone flying along the wall, while scanning AR markers
Following successful collaborations with major Japanese contractors, Spiral Inc. has officially launched its Vienna subsidiary, combining cutting-edge drone technology with Austria’s tunneling expertise. With this expansion, we aim to revolutionize infrastructure inspections across Europe, enhancing safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness through autonomous drone solutions.
On December 5–6, 2024, Spiral Europe FlexCo., in collaboration with GEODATA’s R&D Director and their team, conducted a series of drone demonstration tests at two tunnel construction sites of the Vienna Metro.
The primary objectives were to: