SPACETEC

What SPACETEC does

SPACETEC Datengewinnung GmbH is a German limited liability company headquartered in Freiburg that has been developing and operating tunnel inspection technology since 1982 (corporate founding 1972 in remote sensing). The company designs and manufactures proprietary multi-channel laser scanners — TS2 (two-channel, railway-mounted), TS3 (three-channel: visual, thermographic, 3D profile at 10,000-pixel resolution), TS4 (adds RGB color), and the R2 track-side measurement unit — together with a software suite comprising TuView (data visualization and clearance mapping), Tunnel-Inspector (digital inspection workflow with damage development tracking), TuDrive (3D virtual navigation), and Tunnel-Info (data management). All measurement units, optics, electronics, and software are developed in-house, and the technology is mounted on road or rail vehicles depending on the application.

Revenue is generated through three streams: professional service projects in which SPACETEC crews scan and analyze tunnels for clients; hardware sales of customized measuring systems to operators wishing to perform their own measurements; and software licenses for the analysis suite. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and clients obtain quotes directly. The customer base is concentrated in public-sector infrastructure — national railways (Swiss Federal Railways / SBB, Deutsche Bahn, BLS AlpTransit, Finnish Railways), metro operators (Métro Montréal, STIB/MIVB Brussels, NYC Transit Authority), road authorities (Land Baden-Württemberg), research institutes (BAM), and select industrial users (A2A) — across 27 countries, with cumulative coverage exceeding 2,800 tunnels and 6,400 km of scanned sections including flagship assets like the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

Go-to-market is direct, project-based, and reference-driven: the company uses marquee project case studies (Gotthard, Montréal Metro, Lötschberg) on its German/English corporate website as the primary marketing asset, and closes via direct client contact. Distribution relies on field-based service delivery and direct enterprise sales of hardware/software; there are no public APIs, partner channels, or app-based distribution mechanisms. SPACETEC has been self-funded since founding, with no disclosed external investment, and is privately held under a five-person Geschäftsführung (Werner Weber, Richard Wißler, Tobias Aschoff, Dr. Arnaud Cereyon, Bernhard Feger). Operational scale is 11–50 employees with two Freiburg sites — the historic headquarters at Salzstraße 47 and a 2018 development/calibration building — and the firm is the de facto pioneer/reference vendor in mobile tunnel scanning.

Name

SPACETEC

Legal name

SPACETEC Datengewinnung GmbH

Website

https://spacetec.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SPACETEC Datengewinnung GmbH is a Freiburg-based German firm developing proprietary multi-channel tunnel scanners (TS2/TS3/TS4) and inspection software (TuView, Tunnel-Inspector, TuDrive), serving railways, metros, and road authorities across 27 countries with both inspection services and equipment sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tunnel Inspection Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Tunnel Construction (Road, Rail, Utility) (IMAFAEAC)

Keywords

• Tunnel inspection services
• Laser scanning systems
• Clearance profile measurement
• Thermography inspection
• Damage mapping

Headquarters

HQ city

Freiburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tunnel Inspection Services: SPACETEC conducts tunnel inspection projects as a service for clients worldwide. The company performs the complete process from scanning to analysis and reporting, including documentation of tunnel conditions, clearance checks, damage assessment, and crack detection.
2. Measuring Systems (Hardware): Sale of proprietary tunnel scanners (TS2, TS3, TS4) and measurement units (R2) to clients who prefer to conduct their own measurements. Systems are customizable and include training, long-term support and calibration.
3. Software Products: Supply of analysis and visualization software packages (TuView, Tunnel-Inspector, TuDrive, Tunnel-Info) that can be customized to client requirements and integrated with their systems.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SPACETEC is a German tunnel inspection services company that performs tunnel scanning projects worldwide for railways, metros, road authorities, and engineering offices. The company develops and supplies proprietary multi-channel laser scanning hardware (TS2, TS3, TS4, R2) and a software suite (TuView, Tunnel-Inspector, TuDrive, Tunnel-Info) that together deliver visual, thermographic, 3D profile, and RGB color documentation of tunnel conditions in a single pass. Service engagements cover clearance verification, damage mapping, crack detection, and structural condition documentation across 27 countries.

Product overview

SPACETEC is a German tunnel inspection technology company offering an integrated portfolio of hardware scanners and proprietary software for tunnel documentation, inspection, and analysis. The hardware portfolio includes the TS4 (4-channel with RGB color), TS3 (3-channel), TS2 (2-channel compact), and R2 (track-side measurement unit). The software suite includes TuView for visualization and analysis, Tunnel-Inspector for inspection workflow support, TuDrive for 3D visualization, and Tunnel-Info for data management. These products work together as an end-to-end solution: scanners capture data (visual, thermal, 3D, and color channels), Tunnel-Info manages the data, TuView and TuDrive enable analysis and visualization, and Tunnel-Inspector supports the complete inspection workflow from preparation through reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SPACETEC TS4 Fast four-channel tunnel scanner capturing color, profile, and thermography data in a single passage. Adds high-quality RGB color imaging to the TS3 platform and reveals details hidden in laser scans such as color markings, surface conditions, corrosion, material identification, and fresh spalling.
• SPACETEC TS3 High-speed three-channel tunnel scanner for simultaneous image, profile, and thermography recording. Features 360° viewing angle, 10,000-pixel resolution, and 300 Hz mirror rotation; can be mounted on road or rail vehicles for any tunnel type.
• SPACETEC TS2 Mobile two-channel image and profile scanner mounted on a track geometry car. Designed for railway applications with a 290° recording angle, 10,000-point resolution at 360°, and optional motor drive and tachymeter for track position recording.
• SPACETEC R2 Lightweight (9 kg) ergonomic track-side measurement unit for measuring individual points close to the track. Features a laser distance meter, inclinometer, integrated GPS, Bluetooth connectivity, and over 8 hours of battery life, supporting thousands of measurements per charge.
• TuView Intuitive software for visualizing and analyzing tunnel scanner data. Supports all TS3/TS4 data channels (visual, thermal, 3D, RGB) with pixel-by-pixel synchronicity, and includes clearance profile mapping, image comparison, volume calculations, export to CAD (DXF), and serial printing for image books.
• Tunnel-Inspector Digital assistant supporting the entire tunnel inspection process from preparation through on-site inspection to office analysis and reporting. Features damage mapping, condition rating, damage development tracking, image/profile/visual/statistical comparisons, and integration with SIB (Straßen-Informations-Bank) database.
• TuDrive Program for creating 3D visualization of scanner recordings. Enables virtual tunnel inspection with free navigation at variable speeds, detailed views with adjustable lighting, distance measurements, overlays from other analysis programs, clearance profile maps, and national coordinate embedding.
• Tunnel-Info Data management and organization tool for large scan datasets. Provides quick access to tunnel data on hard drives, manages supplementary data (photos, videos, drawings, texts), serves as a launch center for TuView, Tunnel-Inspector and TuDrive, and supports data comparison across different years.
• Tunnel Inspection Services End-to-end tunnel inspection service: SPACETEC teams perform tunnel scanning projects for clients worldwide, delivering clearance checks, damage mapping, crack detection, thermography, and structural condition documentation. Projects include scanning with proprietary multi-channel scanners, data processing, analysis, and reporting for railways, metros, road authorities, and engineering offices across 27 countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Gotthard Base Tunnel (120 km) scanned in just 6 working shifts
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability6 records

Feature8 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Trimble: Global surveying and construction technology provider with mobile mapping, rail (Trimble GEDO), and infrastructure inspection products. Competes with SPACETEC in broader rail/infrastructure measurement but lacks a tunnel-specialized end-to-end scanner/software suite.
• Leica Geosystems (Hexagon): Global leader in geospatial measurement with mobile mapping and laser scanning products (Leica Pegasus, ScanStation) used in tunnel and rail applications. Larger incumbent with overlapping but much broader offering than SPACETEC's tunnel-specific stack.
• Topcon Positioning: Global positioning and surveying instruments provider with rail and infrastructure inspection offerings. Broad incumbent competing for the same tunnel-surveying hardware and software budgets as SPACETEC.
• FARO Technologies: Provider of 3D laser scanning and measurement solutions (Focus, Orbis mobile mapper) with applications in infrastructure documentation. Adjacent/competing in 3D tunnel capture but oriented toward broader AEC markets.

Emerging players

• SICK AG: German industrial sensor manufacturer with LiDAR and 2D/3D laser scanning products targeting rail, tunnel, and intralogistics applications. Emerging adjacent competitor with strong DACH presence that could move more directly into SPACETEC's tunnel inspection niche.
• Teledyne FLIR: Provider of thermal imaging systems used in infrastructure and tunnel moisture/defect inspection. Comparable through thermography-based inspection capabilities that overlap with SPACETEC's TS3/TS4 thermal channels.

Direct peers

• VMT (Herrenknecht subsidiary): German specialist in tunnel surveying, navigation, and deformation monitoring, originally a spin-off of tunnel boring guidance. Comparable as a direct German DACH-headquartered peer in tunnel measurement systems and services.
• Geodata Group: Austria-based tunneling, geotechnical, and measurement services group providing tunnel surveying and monitoring. Overlaps with SPACETEC's inspection, clearance, and structural documentation services for rail and metro clients.
• Amberg Technologies: Swiss provider of tunnel and railway surveying systems (Amberg Profiler, Tunnel-SLAM, GRP System). Direct competitor to SPACETEC in mobile tunnel geometry and clearance scanning for rail and metro clients.
• RIEGL Laser Measurement Systems: Austrian manufacturer of high-performance LiDAR and laser scanning systems, including mobile/kinematic scanning platforms relevant to tunnel profiling. Comparable as a hardware-side peer in 3D tunnel data acquisition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spacetec

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 SPACETEC