Techmatics Robotics

What Techmatics Robotics does

Techmatics Robotics is a Christchurch, New Zealand-based private company founded in 2016 that designs and manufactures rugged inspection robots for confined and hard-to-access environments. Its product portfolio centres on the Hades platform family (Hades-3/3T/3X subfloor, Hades-5 under-vehicle, Hades Pipe Inspection) complemented by the Cerberus-X throwable tactical surveillance robot, the Cyclops 3-metre extendable pole camera, and the Dragonfly DJI Avata 2 lighting attachment. All products are engineered and assembled in-house, with proprietary custom PCBs, microcontrollers, long-range low-latency wireless video links, LiDAR-based automatic number plate recognition, and ruggedized mechanical designs (drop-rated chassis, waterproof submersible variants, inverted driving up to 45-degree inclines) differentiating the offering.

The company sells primarily to government agencies across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom for law enforcement (NZ Police Armed Offenders Squad, Queensland Police, WA Police, AFP), corrections (NZ Department of Corrections), biosecurity (NZ MPI, Australian DAFF), defense (Australian Army), transportation security (NZ AvSec, UK DVSA), and central banking security (RBNZ), plus commercial operators in energy (Contact Energy), vehicle pre-export inspection (JEVIC), and professional inspection services (Vertech). Its business model combines direct enterprise/government sales for custom solutions with an e-commerce storefront for standard products, complemented by flexible NZ-only finance options (rent, lease, rent-to-own) and recurring service-level agreements for fleet management. Revenue mechanics are predominantly one-time hardware sales ranging from NZD 162.50 for accessories to NZD 4,095 for standard robot configurations, with quote-based pricing for bespoke builds.

Operating geographies span Oceania (NZ, AU), Europe (UK), and East Asia (Japan). The company is privately held with no identified institutional investors; disclosed funding consists solely of six non-dilutive Callaghan Innovation grants totalling approximately NZD 76,611 between 2017 and 2024. The management team disclosed in source material includes a Director, Product Manager, and Software Developer, consistent with a lean founder-led operating model.

Name

Techmatics Robotics

Legal name

Techmatics Robotics New Zealand

Website

https://techmatics.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Techmatics Robotics designs and manufactures rugged inspection robots in Christchurch, New Zealand for confined-space and hazardous environments, serving law enforcement, corrections, biosecurity, defense, and infrastructure clients across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Inspection Robotics

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Robot Hardware, Actuators & Components (sensors, grippers, motors) (HDAAAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Inspection Services (Ground, Aerial/Drone, Helicopter, Climbing) (EUADAJAC)

Keywords

• Inspection robotics
• Confined space robots
• Tactical surveillance robots
• Under-vehicle inspection
• Pipeline inspection systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Christchurch

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Inspection Robots: Sale of manufactured inspection robots including Hades series (subfloor, pipe, under-vehicle inspection), Cerberus-X tactical robots, Cyclops pole cameras, and accessories like Dragonfly drone lights. Products are sold as standard off-the-shelf items or customized to customer specifications. Pricing is primarily unit-based with products ranging from $162.50 NZD (accessories) to $4,095 NZD (standard robot configurations).
2. Custom Solutions and Professional Services: Purpose-built robotic systems, payload integrations, and software workflows developed to customer requirements. Includes initial consultation, concept development, prototyping, and production deployment. Also includes training services, repairs, maintenance, and ongoing support.
3. Finance Options - Rent, Lease, Rent-to-Own: Flexible finance arrangements including short-term rentals (ideal for trials or seasonal demand), leasing for long-term use with predictable monthly costs, and rent-to-own options allowing staged payments toward ownership. Available to New Zealand customers with payment schedules weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.
4. Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Dedicated service agreements for organizations requiring fleet management, including rapid replacement options to minimize operational downtime. Two-year warranty provided as standard with all hardware purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Techmatics Robotics designs and manufactures rugged inspection robots for confined, hazardous, and hard-to-access environments. The product portfolio centres on the Hades platform family for subfloor, under-vehicle, and pipe inspection, complemented by the Cerberus-X tactical surveillance robot, the Cyclops extendable pole camera, and the Dragonfly drone lighting attachment. All products are designed and built in-house in Christchurch, New Zealand, with custom engineering, training, and maintenance services provided to government agencies and commercial operators globally.

Product overview

Techmatics Robotics is a Christchurch-based robotics company founded in 2016 that designs and manufactures rugged inspection robots for confined and hard-to-access environments. The product portfolio centres on the Hades platform family (Hades-3, Hades-3T, Hades-3X, Hades-5) for subfloor, under-vehicle, and pipe inspection applications, complemented by the Cerberus-X tactical surveillance robot for law enforcement and military use, the Cyclops extendable pole camera system, and the Dragonfly drone lighting accessory for DJI Avata 2. The company also offers custom-built robotic solutions, financing options (rent, lease, rent-to-own), repairs, maintenance with two-year warranty, training, and support services. Products are designed and manufactured in-house in New Zealand with a focus on practical field reliability for commercial operators and government agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hades-3 Subfloor Inspection Robot Rugged subfloor inspection robot designed for crawlspace and underfloor inspections, featuring a 4K camera, optional thermal imaging, 180-degree tilting camera head, 400m wireless transmission range, and inverted driving capability for operations on inclines up to 45 degrees.
• Hades-3T Subfloor Inspection Robot with Thermal Advanced subfloor inspection robot equipped with 4K tilting camera and thermal imaging for identifying moisture intrusion, heat loss, insulation defects, and pest activity in crawlspaces and subfloor areas.
• Hades-3X Waterproof Submergible Subfloor Inspection Robot Waterproof submergible subfloor inspection robot capable of operating up to 15cm underwater for 30 minutes, featuring 4K HD camera, thermal camera, removable battery, and seamless inverted operation capability.
• Hades-5 Under-Vehicle Inspection Robot Semi-autonomous under-vehicle inspection robot for rapid vehicle undercarriage scanning without ramps or pits, featuring six cameras, automatic number plate recognition via LiDAR, image comparison functionality, and scan capture at 9999 x 3000 pixels resolution.
• Cerberus-X Tactical Surveillance Robot Small throwable tactical surveillance robot designed for high-risk entry support, remote reconnaissance, and area surveillance. Features HD camera with thermal imaging, night vision, two-way audio communication, 400m transmission range, and can withstand drops from 2 metres.
• Cyclops Extendable Tactical Pole Camera Extendable pole camera system with 3-metre reach, motorised tilting camera head, HD video, night vision, and thermal imaging for pre-entry support, visual inspections, and search and rescue operations.
• Hades Pipe Inspection Robot Field-ready pipe inspection robot for stormwater, wastewater, and industrial pipelines, featuring a 4K pan-tilt camera with secondary 1080p tilting camera and thermal imaging, tethered operation up to 150m, wireless operation up to 400m transmission range, and rugged carry case for deployment.
• Dragonfly DJI Avata 2 Lighting Attachment High-powered LED lighting attachment for DJI Avata 2 drone featuring four LEDs, rechargeable 850mAh battery providing up to 30 minutes runtime, lightweight 100g design with tool-free installation for low-light and night-time drone operations.
• Custom Robotic Solutions and Engineering Services Purpose-built robotic systems, payload integrations, and software workflows developed to customer specifications, including initial consultation, concept development, prototyping, production deployment, training, repairs, maintenance, and ongoing support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced vehicle inspection time from over 100 vehicles per Saturday at Christchurch Men's Prison
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability16 records

Feature8 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Boston Dynamics: US-based advanced robotics company (Spot, Stretch). A broad incumbent adjacent to Techmatics' inspection robotics market, with deep R&D resources; while not a direct competitor in confined-space subfloor/pipe crawlers today, it represents a credible threat if it moves down-market into inspection.
• Eddyfi Technologies: Canadian NDT/inspection equipment manufacturer covering pipelines, structural, and industrial inspection. Comparable to Techmatics in serving inspection-service providers and utilities, with overlapping industrial-measurement instrument product lines.
• L3Harris Technologies (Tactical Robotics): Large US defense prime with a portfolio including the T4 and T7 tactical ground robots. Competes with Techmatics' Cerberus-X for government tenders, but as a broad incumbent with much larger R&D, certifications, and global program-of-record footprint.

Direct peers

• Flyability: Swiss maker of collision-tolerant drones for confined-space industrial inspections (stacks, boilers, tanks). Directly comparable as a specialist in remote inspection of hard-to-access indoor/industrial environments, often sold to utilities and government-adjacent inspection firms.
• ICOR Technology: Canadian maker of tactical and EOD robots (Caliber series) sold to law enforcement, military, and government security agencies. Directly comparable to Techmatics' Cerberus-X tactical surveillance robot line in customer base and ruggedized mission profile.
• Deep Trekker: Canadian manufacturer of remotely operated submersible and pipe/utility inspection robots. Closely comparable to Techmatics' Hades pipe robot and under-vehicle platforms, serving utilities, ports, and infrastructure inspection markets.
• SuperDroid Robots: US-based custom and standard tactical/inspection robot platform provider. Comparable to Techmatics in offering ruggedized configurable robots for confined-space inspection and law-enforcement/security applications, with a similar customization-led model.
• CUES (a subsidiary of SPX Technologies): US manufacturer of underground pipe and wastewater inspection crawlers. Comparable to Techmatics' Hades pipe inspection robot in product category (tethered pipe crawlers with pan-tilt cameras) and customer base (utilities, municipalities).
• Roboteam: Designer of tactical ground robots (MTGR, ROCU) for defense and homeland security. Direct competitor to Techmatics' Cerberus-X in the throwable/small tactical robot category, with similar ruggedized designs and government buyers.

Emerging players

• Clearpath Robotics: Canadian supplier of unmanned ground vehicles and robotic platforms used in research, mining, and industrial inspection. Comparable to Techmatics in the broader ruggedized mobile robotics category, though more focused on research/mining than law-enforcement tactical use.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Techmatics Robotics