702 M A T E R I A L S E V A L U A T I O N • J U L Y 2 0 2 1 Waygate Technologies Robotics Supports EU PILOTING Project As part of its commitment to addressing the issue of aging civil and commercial infrastructure in Europe, Waygate Technologies Robotics (WTR), headquar- tered in Zurich, Switzerland, announced that it has taken a leading role in the European Union (EU)–funded PILOTING initiative. The initiative is driven by a consortium of 14 high-profile tech and inspection service providers and asset owners from six European countries, working together to meet the current critical need for efficient and reliable infra- structure inspection and maintenance by developing state-of-the-art robotic inspec- tion solutions and an integrated informa- tion and management (I&M) platform. PILOTING is an acronym that stands for “PILOTs for robotic INspection and mainte- nance Grounded on advanced intelligent platforms and prototype applications.” Funded by the European Commission, the project started in early 2020 and is planned to run for four years. The main goal is to establish an efficient and univer- sally compatible high-tech approach to renew Europe’s aging infrastructure, which includes bridges and tunnels as well as dozens of oil refineries. Central to PILOTING is the creation of an open and scalable inspection and maintenance platform. Currently, inspec- tion personnel and authorities often lack repeatable and reproducible inspection data. This problem can be addressed with an ecosystem that integrates a variety of robotic systems. Ultimately, these intelli- gent solutions will save time, reduce costs, improve the quality of inspections, and reduce risks for infrastructure operators. Based on its expertise in this field, WTR is leading the project’s efforts in the development of robotic systems with advanced autonomous functionalities, including crawlers, drones, and wheeled ground vehicles. PILOTING is part of HORIZON 2020, the EU’s research and innovation initiative. Horizon 2020 is a central building block of the ERA (European Research Area), which is working toward the free exchange of knowledge throughout the EU. The ultimate goal is economic growth and job creation. Aerospace Maintenance & Repair Operation Locates HQ in Texas’s Hill Country Gulf Avionics, a full-service avionics main- tenance and repair operation (MRO), has located its headquarters and operations at the Kerrville/Kerr County Airport in Texas’s Hill Country region, which runs between the state’s central and southern sections. The company will service aviation clients from the greater San Antonio area and plans to create 50 avionics and aerospace jobs in the next five years. After a year-long site selection process, the MRO chose Kerrville and has moved into 7000 ft2 (650 m2) of space at one of the airport’s hangars. Gulf Avionics, an official dealer for manufacturers including Garmin, Honeywell, Trans-Cal, and PS Engineering, will be offering inspection and general maintenance assis- tance to hundreds of aircraft owners and operators as it grows its presence in Kerrville and throughout the Austin–San Antonio corridor, home to 4.5 million people. The company has started the process of recruiting talent and hiring local employees. The new jobs, specifically the avionics technicians, will earn upward of $75 000 in annual wages, which will infuse more than $16 million into the local economy. Buehler Celebrates 85 Years Buehler, an ITW Company, is celebrating its 85th anniversary. Headquartered in Lake Bluff, Illinois, Buehler is a manufac- turer of scientific instruments and supplies for cross-sectional analysis. The company’s sectioning, mounting, grinding and polishing, imaging and analysis, and hardness testing equipment are used by metallurgical, metallography, petrography, research & development, university labora- tories, quality control departments, and failure analysis facilities for the analysis of all types of materials, including ceramics, composites, semiconductors, metals, rocks and minerals, and plastics. MIL Announces Mark Sullivan as President Mark Sullivan has been named president of Magnetic Inspection Laboratory Inc. (MIL) located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. MIL is one of the largest service providers of nondestructive testing, metal finishing, coatings, and welding services for the aerospace, defense, and medical indus- tries. Sullivan brings over 25 years of expe- rience to the role of president. He is highly regarded for his success in leading executive teams, growing business value, and his commitment to continuous opera- tional improvement. w INDUSTRY news Waygate Technologies Robotics is taking a leading role in an EU-funded robotics initiative known as PILOTING to develop robotic systems with advanced autonomous functionalities for infrastructure inspection in Europe.