Flyability is the pioneer and global leader in confined space inspection drones. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Lausanne, Flyability specializes in creating collision-tolerant UAVs equipped to carry multiple payloads in GPS-denied areas. With over 10 years of R&D and over 1,400 satisfied customers, Flyability enables safe, efficient inspections in confined and hard-to-reach spaces, helping industries reduce risk, downtime, and cost. Its flagship drone, the Elios 3, is revolutionizing how industries like energy, oil and gas, mining, and maritime inspect and maintain their infrastructure. Through cutting-edge innovation, Flyability continues to make the inaccessible accessible.
The Role in the AUTOASSESS project
For Autoassess, Flyability is providing an Elios 3 drone and UT payload to each of the University Team members. The drones have been updated with a custom APK and interface cable to allow the team members to experiment with control and autonomy algorithms and integrate custom sensors and payloads developed under the Autoassess program. Finally, Flyability is acting as a Subject Matter Expert for industrial inspection, supporting the team with their years of experience operating drones in complex indoor environments.
Meet the Team
- Adrien Briod, Ph.D., Founder and CTO of Flyability. Adrien is a robotics expert with 15 years of experience in R&D. He earned his MSc from EPFL, McGill, and Harvard in 2009. In 2013, he earned his PhD from EPFL, developing drones that could fly indoors. In 2014, Adrien co-founded Flyability SA, where he is currently CTO and leads new product development.
- Paul Samuel, Ph.D., Project Manager at Flyability. Paul is a Project Manager and Senior UAV Engineer, currently managing the development of Flyabilitiy’s ultrasonic thickness measurement payload as well as the SDK for Autoassess. He earned his BS, MS, and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland. Paul has 25 years of experience working with small drones and related technologies.
- Johannes Brakker Løje, Autonomy Group Lead at Flyability. Johannes has 7+ years of experience in the drone industry, currently leading the Autonomy group at Flyability. He specializes in developing cutting-edge SLAM, Sensor Fusion, Navigation, and Sensor System drone technologies for inspecting complex, confined, and inaccessible spaces. Johannes holds a Master’s degree in robotics from EPFL and DTU.
- Nicolas Serafini, Electronics and Firmware Lead. Nicolas is a Senior Embedded Firmware Engineer at Flyability with 20+ years in embedded systems, including 10 years in drone technology. He has experience in medical devices, embedded Linux, and real-time operating systems.
- Konstantin Sommer, Autonomy: Stability Lead. Konstantin is an Autonomy Engineer at Flyability. He earned his Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Stuttgart. Konstantin is responsible for the flight stabilization algorithms and has expertise in computer vision, state estimation algorithms and simulation.
- Nathan Boisard, Autonomy: System Architect. Nathan is an Autonomy Engineer at Flyability. He holds a Master’s degree in engineering from Centrale Lille. Nathan is responsible for ensuring that our Autonomy system remains coherent as new developments are added, and defining interface requirements between Autonomy and other systems.
- Michael Schmid, Autonomy Engineer. Michael is an Autonomy Engineer at Flyability, specializing in the development of advanced control system algorithms and trajectory generation methods for autonomous navigation. He holds a Master’s degree in Robotics, Systems and Control from ETH Zürich.
A highlight about Flyability
Flyability’s advanced NDT drone technology is shaping the future of confined space inspections and asset maintenance.
