More than 2.2 million Australians live in apartments

With the median unit price nudging $610,000 – Sydney’s average is over $800,000. Written by Voltin

According to the latest research by the University of New South Wales City Futures Research Centre, defects in multiunit strata titled developments are common. More than one in four apartment blocks in Sydney built in the decade to 2017 are likely have defects, the October 2021 report revealed.

The most common defects encompassed the ‘big three’— water structural ingress, cracking and fire safety issues (estimated at 42%, 26% and 17% respectively).

In June 2017, the Grenfell Tower fire in London showed the world the risks of combustible cladding with 72 people dying in the inferno. On Christmas Eve in 2018 the Opal Tower in Sydney was evacuated due to a major structural failure. In February 2019, the Neo200 Tower in Melbourne experienced a serious cladding fire and in June 2019, Mascot Towers was evacuated after structural cracks made the building unsafe.

Regular and accurate inspections are a solution. The Voltin System is an innovative Australian technology that identifies, classifies and digitally represents building defects. By combining mechatronics and artificial intelligence, Voltin delivers a lower cost and more accurate solution to automated building inspection.

Voltin Director Stephen Thornton said safety – both of the building occupants and for the defect detection team – lies at the heart of the company’s vision for 10,000 safer cities.

“All buildings have defects at some time in their lifecycle,” Mr Thornton said. “Our unique Voltin technology operates an automated data capture device that scans the façade of the building to collect and collate sufficient images for processing, photogrammetry, and information modelling.”

The Autobat 2.0 is the heart and brain of the Voltin system. With a Civil Aviation Safety Authority approval and international approval for operation within CBD environs and in controlled airspace, building access is guaranteed regardless of the environment.

Once the façade image capture process is completed, the system then provides the geotagged images in both white light and thermal imagery for algorithmic analysis. With this information, building defects can be identified, classified and rectified.

By using Voltin’s system solution, building owners and managers save money, time and lives. Results demonstrate a 30% process costs reduction, 100% building coverage analysis, and 95% defect location accuracy.

Find out more about Voltin’s vision for 10,000 safer cities. Visit voltin.com.au

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