Speaker & Abstracts

Sebastian Schulze

Radiography in Construction - Completely Non-Destructive Structural Diagnostics

In contrast to traditional materials testing, x-rays are rarely used in building diagnostics, but they offer strong potential for the non-destructive assessment of constructions of concrete and prestressed concrete structures. This talk demonstrates the applicability of mobile x-ray equipment in the field of structural inspection, as well as current research results on CT, using x-ray tubes with an acceleration voltage of up to 300 kV and a 2.5 MeV Betatron.

Sebastian Schulze, CEO, bauray GmbH

Sebastian Schulze earned his doctorate in 2017 as a research assistant at BAM (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) in Berlin on the use of ultrasonic echoes for the inspection of prestressed concrete structures. With the company bauray, he was the first in Germany to found an engineering firm specializing in the application of radiography within NDT-CE (non-destructive testing in civil engineering). In the “BridgeCT” research consortium, bauray is currently working with THD, TUM, and VisiConsult to develop practical methods for laminographic and CT examination of bridges and other massive concrete

cross-sections.

Robert Schalausky

Robo CT in Total Vehicle Testing @ BMW Group

This presentation discusses the development and deployment of Robo CT, a multi-robot, robotic-CT system integrated into total vehicle testing at BMW

Group. The initiative originated from a collaboration between Robert Schalausky and Thomas Mayer, with Thomas serving as the planning and construction project

leader. The system combines four robotic arms with dual X-ray sources—the Comet mid-range source (approximately 300 µm focal spot) and a Hamamatsu micro-focus source—to enable high-resolution nondestructive imaging across components and complete vehicles. A key feature is its modular, interchangeable detector setup and the ability to integrate alternative modalities, including thermography and 3D scanning, within a single testing cell. Since late 2018, the Robo CT cell

has been used routinely in standard test procedures, significantly expanding test coverage and throughput while reducing cycle times. The talk will cover:

(1) system architecture and integration within existing test workflows, (2) imaging performance and data handling for multi-modal NDT, (3) challenges in

calibration, alignment, and cross-modality data fusion, and (4) lessons learned and future directions for scalable, multi-use Robo-CT solutions in automotive testing.

Robert Schalausky, Engineer, BMW Group

Robert Schalausky is the responsible manager for body- and long-term testing and measurement techniques within BMW Group’s total vehicle testing. He oversees the total-vehicle Robo CT program, which encompasses multiple non-destructive testing capabilities. He earned a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1991.

Benjamin Garcia

Robotic X-ray CT for Nondestructive Evaluation of Advanced Carbon Fiber Composite Structures

To be announced.

Benjamin Garcia, Executive Director of the Miller Advanced Research and Solutions (MARS) Center, Weber State University

Dr. Garcia has 20 years of industrial experience in the aerospace and defense industry before becoming the Executive Director of the Miller Advanced Research and Solutions (MARS) Center at Weber State University (WSU). Dr. Garcia worked at Northrop Grumman as a Research and Director manager in developing systems for automated composites fabrication and as a senior business development manager for the COI Ceramics group in San Diego. He has extensive experience working with advanced composite research and development and advanced manufacturing for aerospace and defense. Dr. Garcia received a BS in Materials Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University.

Frank Herold

Robotic CT: Design Principles for Easy, Fast, and Complete CT Scans

To be announced.

Frank Herold, Research and Technology Expert, VisiConsult X-ray Systems & Solutions GmbH

To be announced.

Josef Uher

RadalyX: Portable Dual-Robot Multimodal Scanners

Robotics has a well-established position in manufacturing, yet the number of applications in non-destructive evaluation (NDE) is steadily increasing as well. Robotics brings numerous benefits to NDE — the most apparent being the automation of inspection processes. Several companies in the aerospace industry rely on ultrasonic testing performed by large industrial robots. X-ray imaging is also increasingly used, although typically limited to simple tube/detector positioning at predefined locations for single X-ray snapshots.

Our approach employs smaller collaborative robots coupled with advanced geometry calibration methods that enable almost unrestricted positioning around the inspected object. This allows the robotic system to be deployed in situ, directly where the inspection is required.

The scanner integrates X-ray imaging, tomosynthesis, and computed tomography (CT) with laser profiling. This combination significantly enhances the interpretability of results, particularly in situations where only limited-angle CT or tomosynthesis is feasible.

The system can also be extended with ultrasonic testing (UT) probes. Laser-acoustic technology is especially advantageous thanks to its broad application range and the fact that it does not require liquid coupling of transducers.

Further X-ray imaging modalities include X-ray backscattering for single-sided imaging, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping for elemental identification. A particularly promising method is X-ray diffraction (XRD), which has become applicable with robots using novel full-spectral imaging detectors.

The portfolio of inspection probes additionally includes hyperspectral cameras covering wavelengths from the infrared to the ultraviolet range.

Scans measured using the implemented modalities are recorded within the same coordinate space, which is essential not only for data visualization but also for evaluating cross-correlations among the methods.

This talk will provide an overview of the technology, selected application examples, and future development directions.

Josef Uher, CTO, Radalytica

Josef Uher is a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Radalytica and InsightART, where he leads teams focused on developing advanced X-ray imaging technologies. With a Ph.D. in Physics from the Czech Technical University, his expertise spans photon counting detectors, 3D detection structures in semiconductors, and neutron tomography. Josef has held research and leadership roles at different institutions, including the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and Amsterdam Scientific Instruments. He has published extensively on x-ray imaging, neutron detection, and semiconductor technology and holds several patents in radiation detection and imaging.

Gabriel Herl

To be announced.

Gabriel Herl, Professor, Deggendorf Institute of Technology

Gabriel Herl has been researching multi-pose CT and robotic CT at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology since 2015. In 2022, he completed his PhD on CT trajectory optimization in collaboration with Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Since 2023, he has been a professor of robotic CT at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, based at the Technology Campus Plattling. The Research Centre for Modern Mobility, located on the campus, specializes in areas such as robotic CT, energy storage systems, power electronics, and autonomous driving. Gabriel Herl's research primarily focuses on CT trajectory optimization, CT calibration, and developing optimized workflows for robotic CT.