His robots crawl through water pipes: Stefan Bamberger is Digital Shaper Eastern Switzerland 2025

Bamberger came out on top in the online voting on eastdigital.ch and was officially honored at the Digital Conference Eastern Switzerland at the Einstein Congress St.Gallen.

With his company Fluidbot, Bamberger develops autonomous robots for monitoring drinking water pipes. The small devices move independently through pipe systems and collect data on the condition of the pipes. Cracks, material changes or incipient leaks can thus be detected at an early stage. The aim is to reduce water losses, minimize repairs and extend the service life of the infrastructure.

The system can be integrated into existing drinking water networks and is primarily aimed at supply companies that have previously only been able to check their networks selectively or reactively. The regular recording of condition data gives them greater planning security and allows them to deploy resources in a more targeted manner.

Support from the SVGW

Fluidbot was awarded an innovation grant by the Swiss Gas and Water Industry Association (SVGW) back in 2024. This enabled the company to press ahead with the further development of its prototypes and tackle its first pilot applications.

Digitization beneath the surface

Drinking water infrastructures are considered an area with a backlog in terms of digitalization. With its solution, Fluidbot is addressing a segment of public utilities that was previously hardly accessible on a data basis. The combination of sensor technology, automation and data analysis opens up new approaches to maintenance. Because the technology works within existing infrastructure, it is also suitable for small and medium-sized water suppliers.

For Bamberger, cyber resilience, the theme of this year's Digital Conference Eastern Switzerland, is also key: "Cyber resilience is becoming increasingly important. With our solution, we are helping to strengthen it. We create a data basis about a critical infrastructure in order to assess its condition and derive targeted measures for maintenance. This helps to prevent outages."

The title of "Digital Shaper Eastern Switzerland 2025" was awarded in a public vote at www.eastdigital.ch. The vote was held in the run-up to the Digital Conference Ostschweiz and the result was announced live at the event.

"It is a great honor for me to receive this award. I am speechless and would like to thank my team and everyone who has supported us along the way," said a visibly moved Bamberger after the award ceremony. In addition to the title, Bamberger also received a further training voucher from BVS St. Gallen worth CHF 14,000.