ErmineX Magnetic Crawler
Inspects ship hulls without dry-docking. Cleans them without damage.
Magnetic crawler robot for ship hulls, ballast tanks, storage tanks, pipelines and port infrastructure. Autonomous NDT inspection with adaptive hull cleaning built in.
- Prototype trial completed — Cochin Shipyard Limited
- KSUM & Maker Village incubated
- NVIDIA Inception Program
- EPAM Akash Grant — IIIT Hyderabad
The differentiator
Adaptive hull-cleaning intelligence.
ErmineX identifies fouling type and severity through its camera, then regulates its own water-jet cleaning in real time.
- 01Detects barnacles, algae and slime from the camera feed
- 02Dynamically adjusts jet pressure, distance and speed
- 03Removes fouling without damaging the anti-biofouling coating
- 04Prevents coating damage that would release toxins into the marine environment
Capabilities
Built for ship hulls first.
Hull navigation
Magnetic wheels hold 10 kg per wheel — crawls vertical, horizontal and inverted metallic surfaces without support rigging.
Adaptive cleaning
Regulates water-jet cleaning in real time based on fouling type and severity.
Multi-sensor NDT
Ultrasonic, visual and eddy-current sensors detect cracks, corrosion and weld defects in a single pass.
Autonomous or manual
Runs pre-planned inspection routes autonomously, or under direct operator control for targeted checks.
Beyond the hull
Extends to ballast tanks, storage tanks, pipelines and port infrastructure on the same platform.
Submersible inspection
Underwater hull inspection without dry-docking — in development toward pilot readiness.
Technical details
Specifications
ErmineX Magnetic Crawler · Rev. 2026
- Magnetic force
- 10 kg per wheel
- Surface compatibility
- Vertical, horizontal, inverted
- Sensor integration
- UT, X-ray, eddy current, camera
- Operation modes
- Manual & autonomous
- Applications
- Ship hulls, ballast & storage tanks, pipelines, port infrastructure
- Submersible operation
- Underwater inspectionIn development
- Safety
- Hazardous-area compatible
See it work on a real hull.
Prototype-validated at Cochin Shipyard Limited. Book a demonstration for your yard or facility.