What Is AEROGRIP? How HausBots’ Suction-and-Airflow Technology Works

AEROGRIP is the patent-pending downforce technology underpinning both of HausBots’
crawler platforms, HB2 and HB3. It’s a suction-and-airflow hybrid system, meaning it combines
suction with directed airflow to generate continuous downforce against a surface, rather than
relying on magnets or a pure vacuum seal. That distinction is what lets the same platform climb
concrete, brick, stainless steel, aluminium, and composites, instead of being limited to one
material type.

Pure vacuum systems work by forming a sealed cavity against a surface and using a pump to
maintain a pressure difference — effective, but generally dependent on a smooth, sealable
surface, since any gap breaks the seal. Airflow-based systems instead use directed air
movement to create a localised low-pressure zone against the surface, a similar underlying
principle to how aerodynamic downforce works on a race car, without needing a perfect seal.
Combining the two into a suction-and-airflow hybrid is what allows a platform like AEROGRIP to
maintain strong downforce even on an uneven, porous, or rough surface like concrete or brick,
where a pure vacuum seal would leak and fail.

For external shell and structural surveys, a climbing robot removes the need to erect scaffolding, and — because the asset doesn’t need to be de-inventoried or taken out of service for an external-only survey — it also removes the shutdown cost that dominates the traditional tank inspection number above. What it doesn’t automatically remove is any internal inspection requirement your asset integrity programme calls for (see API 653 for oil and gas tanks, for example) — that’s a separate scope, not replaced by an external robotic survey.

As covered in our Two Types of Climbing Inspection Robots guide, adhesion technology splits
broadly into magnetic (ferrous-only) and non-magnetic (vacuum, suction, or suction-and-airflow)
systems. AEROGRIP sits in the second category, but specifically as a rough-surface-capable
hybrid rather than a classic smooth-surface-only vacuum system. That’s the detail that matters
operationally: it’s the difference between needing one robot for your steel tanks and a different
one for your concrete structures, versus one platform for both.

Sites mix steel and concrete structures on the same footprint.

• Moves between concrete cooling towers and steel pressure vessels without a platform
  change
•  Rough, weathered concrete surfaces are within AEROGRIP’s design envelope, unlike
  pure vacuum systems
•  Non-ferrous compatibility matters directly for non-magnetic stainless steel components

Tank shells range from carbon steel to composite (FRP) linings.

• Works on carbon steel, stainless steel, and FRP-lined tanks with the same platform
• Rough external coatings and weathering don’t require a different adhesion approach
• Supports the heavier UT/AUT payloads typical of tank integrity programmes on HB3

Concrete-dominant assets like digester tanks (see our Digester Tanks case study) need roughsurface capability.

•  Held HB1 (an earlier HausBots platform using the same underlying principle) against
  external digester tank walls throughout the Northumbrian Water survey
• Concrete cover and surface roughness didn’t require any special adaptation
• Compatible with non-magnetic stainless steel fittings and pipework on the same site

Silos are predominantly rough, weathered concrete.

•  Designed specifically to handle rough surfaces like concrete and brick, unlike pure vacuum systems
• One platform covers both silo shells and steel conveyor structures on the same site
• No dependency on a sealable, smooth surface that weathered concrete often can’t
  provide

Vessels are typically smooth stainless steel, but sites often include concrete secondary
containment.

• Smooth, non-magnetic stainless steel reactors and vessels are well within AEROGRIP’s capability
• Concrete bunding and containment structures use the same platform, not a separate one
• Downforce is engineered to handle vertical and overhead surfaces on process structures

Hygienic stainless steel vessels dominate this sector.

•  Smooth, non-magnetic 304/316 stainless steel is a core use case for suction-based adhesion generally
• AEROGRIP’s approach doesn’t require a magnetic surface, which most hygienic vessels don’t have
• Consistent downforce supports repeatable, systematic scan paths on smooth tank walls

AEROGRIP’s continuous power requirement is the trade-off for its surface flexibility, unlike a
magnetic system, which in many designs holds passively, a suction-and-airflow system needs
power running throughout deployment to maintain downforce. Extremely porous, heavily
degraded, or unusually shaped surfaces can still challenge any suction-based system, and very
tight geometries may suit a smaller, purpose-built platform better than either HB2 or HB3.

AEROGRIP is the delivery mechanism, not the data source, the actual deliverable depends
on the NDT payload carried (see our NDT Payloads Explained guide). What AEROGRIP
determines is where the payload can physically go: which surfaces, geometries, and vessel
sizes are within reach for a given inspection scope.