As far as water resources are concerned, the times - and mentalities -Change. For the past couple of years, political organizations have been are sounding the alarm on a resource that is increasingly showing more often than not it is inexhaustible. Inevitably, companies are being looked at more closely. "We more and more events organized on this subject," says Jean-François Guiderdoni, Director of Development and Co-Founder, with Jean François Rossi from Acwa Robotics.

The manager says he is "more and more solicited" while the various awards or selections in development programs follow one another. "To have been a laureate of the EIC Accelerator (a support program European Editor's note) shows that beyond the quality of our solution, the This subject is at the heart of the concerns," says the manager. The attention is there, but it still needs to be convinced. As for water, the subject often highlighted is that of leaks on the network. Underground pipes that can lose a lot of part of what some now call "blue gold" and for which are cumbersome to carry out work, in particular financially. A subject that is not directly the same to which Acwa Robotics responds. "Our solution doesn't track down leaks, but is located upstream," warns Jean-François Guiderdoni. The startup is developing a robot capable of traversing networks of twenty centimetres in diameter minimum to scan the pipes. A first pilot for October While robots are often associated with humanoid or animal forms, Acwa Robotics' Shape of a tube - which resembles the handle of a lightsaber in Star Wars - able to twist to take turns. Once in the pipe, it scans the network. The goal is to geolocate precisely where it is located, and then to locate with a high image Definition of corrosion-related wear points, seals or even offset junctions. This tool can also measure the residual thickness of the pipe with an ultrasonic sensor and Of course, leaks. This total diagnosis should allow the network manager to be able to better plan interventions. The startup, born in Corsica where the headquarters and the R&D center are located while the operational centre is in Aix-en-Provence, since July, a battery of pre-series tests with the company of Canal de Provence. It hopes to deploy a first pilot by the end of the year October. "It will be in Dunkirk (North) where we have been exchanging ideas since long with Suez," explains Jean-François Guiderdoni. Others then had to spread across France, despite International contacts The manager first wants to make his produced in France. Interest from the industry start-up's solution is of interest to network operators, and local authorities such as the southern region, which is in the capital, but It targets above all the design offices "which are the main prescribers". The business model is based on the provision of services, not on the sale of the robot. While a fundraising of €4.8 million was allocated at the beginning of the year to accelerate commercially and "moving from a startup to an SME", with in particular ten recruitments underway to reach 25 employees, the question of The product capacity will arrive on the table. "To begin with, we design only ten or twenty robots, we are setting up a workshop in our premises in Aix," replies Jean-François Guiderdoni. For Afterwards, the manager would like to produce in mainland France.

Acwa Robotics' many accolades have attracted attention. In particular those of the manufacturers during the CES in Las Vegas in 2023, when the start-up received several awards. "We have achieved that there was a big demand," says Jean-François Guiderdoni. For the moment, the solution is dedicated to drinking water, but it will to industry in the years to come. "We have a program in courses to adapt the robot to industrial networks," confirms the leader. Adaptations that are multiple, ranging from the conditions strict launch, turbidity or pressure much higher hydrostatic rating. "A real challenge" for Acwa Robotics, but also for the industrial sector. Nicolas Dufourcq, the managing director of BPIFrance, pointed out during his hearing by Senate on May 30 that "industrial companies in France, small or large, completely underestimate the risk of drought. I think that it is through the issue of water that people will begin to Understand how much of an adaptation problem we have. The subject in industry it will be water."