SBB and armasuisse rely on proptech start-up Straintest

(CONNECT) Straintest counts the first major companies among its customers: SBB and, more recently, the Swiss Federal Office of Defense armasuisse. According to a report by startupticker.ch, they are working on pilot projects with the Zurich-based start-up, which was founded in August 2024, to find out how they can benefit from its technology for easily measuring and monitoring cracks in facades and infrastructure structures such as bridges.

Unlike time and energy-intensive sensor methods, Straintest only requires a photo that can also be taken with a smartphone camera. A metal plate is attached to the left and right of the crack as a reference point. The images are uploaded to the Straintest platform. The software records and measures even the finest hairline cracks and automatically issues a report.

"Our solution is particularly suitable for short deployments, for example on houses next to a construction site, or for monitoring over a longer period of time when only a few data points - such as once a month - are required," Straintest co-founder Matteo Pariset is quoted as saying in the report. In such cases, it may be worthwhile dispensing with sensor methods that are more complex to install and require a constant power supply and battery replacement. The proptech start-up, which has so far been financed exclusively from its own funds, now wants to acquire suitable sales partners and then concentrate more on further developing the product. ce/mm