How the ALTUM Works and How to Build the Right One.
A plain-language guide to inspecting at height from the ground: how a telescopic carbon pole carries a camera or an ultrasonic probe to the steel, how to configure a system in three steps, and when to use each module: Visual, UTM, EMAT or B-Scan.
How Pole-Based Inspection Works
Instead of building access up to the structure, the ALTUM brings the inspection tool to the structure. The technician stays at a safe standing point on the ground or a walkway and extends an ultra-light carbon pole, up to 18.2 m, to place a camera or an ultrasonic probe against the steel, watching the result live on a viewer.
The pole is the heart of the system: 18.2 m extended, just 1.96 m packed down, 4.1 kg, made of 100% high-modulus carbon in 12 sections. That same pole is the base for every module, so the difference between a visual survey and an ultrasonic thickness reading is simply which head you clamp on.
Because the operator never leaves the ground, the job loses the parts that usually cost the most time and money: staging, rope teams, MEWP hire and airspace permits. The system sets up in minutes, is deployable for hours on a charge and is used in class-society survey work.
Stand safely
The technician stays on the ground, a deck or a walkway: no working at height, no confined-space staging, one person.
Extend the carbon pole
The 12-section, 4.1 kg carbon pole telescopes out to reach the steel, up to 18.2 m vertically, or horizontally with the 3 m overhang.
Bring the module to the steel
The chosen head, camera or ultrasonic probe, is placed against the surface. Magnetic and anti-slip wheels help the crawler hold position.
Read & record live
The camera image or the A-scan thickness reading streams to the tablet or phone viewer, where the operator captures and logs it.
Build a System in Three Steps
The ALTUM is modular by design. Start with one pole, add the module(s) that suit the job, then choose a viewer and the extras that make a particular inspection possible.
1 · The pole
The 18.2 m, 4.1 kg, 100% high-modulus carbon pole (12 sections, 1.96 m packed) is the base of every system. Buy it once, and every module clamps onto the same pole.
2 · The module(s)
Visual camera for condition, welds & coatings; UTM Ultra-Light or UTM-with-Grinder for wall thickness; EMAT for couplant-free readings through paint; B-Scan for corrosion profiling. Mix as many as you need.
3 · Viewer & extras
A tablet (included) or phone viewer, plus job-specific extras: the 3 m horizontal overhang for pipe racks & bridges, a 10 m in-tank cable, spare battery, probes, couplant gel and flight cases.
Typical structures the ALTUM is built for
Which Module Do You Need?
The Visual module answers "what condition is it in?"; the thickness modules answer "how much steel is left?". The right thickness module depends mostly on the surface you have to read through.
| Module | Measures / shows | Best for | Surface needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visual | 64 MP gimbal-stabilised images with LED lighting: condition, welds, coating breakdown, corrosion | Condition surveys, weld & coating checks; great-heights cage variant (~300 mm) or narrow-space variant (160 mm) | None: no contact required |
| UTM Ultra-Light | A-scan wall thickness, with a water/couplant feeder (DA301 5 MHz probe) | Fast thickness readings where the surface is already reasonably clean; lightest UTM head | Clean-ish contact area; needs couplant |
| UTM with Grinder (Crawler) | A-scan thickness after preparing the spot; RC-controlled crawler with camera + 500-lumen light, 25 m cable | Rusted or coated steel that must be cleaned first; magnetic + anti-slip wheels hold it in place | Grinds off rust/coating itself, then needs couplant |
| EMAT | Contactless thickness: reads through paint, coatings and light corrosion | Coated steel where you want no grinding and no gel; live plants and pipe racks | No couplant, no surface prep |
| B-Scan | Corrosion profiling: thickness mapped along a line | Profiling corrosion across an area rather than a single spot reading | As for UTM; contact + couplant |
Not sure which to pick? Tell us the structures you inspect and the surface condition, and we'll spec the right set.
ALTUM vs. Conventional Access
How pole-based inspection compares with the usual ways of reaching steel at height. For ultrasonic thickness you still need to touch the steel with a contact probe. The ALTUM does that from the ground, while a drone cannot in the same way.
| Method | People needed | Setup | Permits | Touch steel for UTM? | Reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scaffolding | Crew to erect & dismantle | Hours to days | Work-at-height controls | Yes, once built | Wherever staged |
| Rope access | Certified rope team (2+) | Rigging & checks | Work-at-height / IRATA controls | Yes, by abseiling to it | Where anchors allow |
| MEWP / cherry-picker | Operator + spotter | Mobilise & position machine | Work-at-height; ground access | Yes, from the basket | Machine working height |
| Drone | Pilot (often + observer) | Flight planning | Airspace / UAV rules apply | No, not the same way as a contact probe | Where it may fly |
| ALTUM | 1 person | Minutes | None, not bound by drone rules | Yes, contact probe (or contactless EMAT) | ~18 m from the ground |
CSpect publishes cost savings of up to 400% versus conventional access, around 45% less inspection time, and up to 5× faster than drone-based UT for thickness measurement.
Inspection Glossary
The terms that come up most often when specifying an ALTUM system.
- UTM
- Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement: using sound pulses to measure how much steel is left in a wall or plate.
- A-scan
- The basic ultrasonic display showing echo against time, from which a thickness reading is taken at a single point.
- B-Scan
- A profile view that maps thickness along a line, so corrosion can be seen across an area rather than at one spot.
- EMAT
- Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer: generates the ultrasound in the steel itself, so it needs no couplant and reads through paint and coatings.
- Couplant
- A gel or fluid that bridges the probe and the steel so ultrasound can pass; it must be the correct viscosity (CSpect gel recommended).
- Gate / Gain
- Flaw-detector controls: the gate selects which echo is measured, and the gain sets signal amplification. Both are needed for reliable UTM.
- Gimbal
- A motorised mount that keeps the visual camera steady and level, so the image stays clear at the end of an extended pole.
- Class accreditation
- CSpect is accredited by major class societies (Bureau Veritas, RINA, Lloyd's Register, ABS, Indian Register) to perform inspections, and uses the ALTUM in that survey work. The device is not separately type-approved, and acceptance of a given survey rests with the attending class surveyor.
- Flaw detector
- The ultrasonic instrument the UTM module connects to; for the ALTUM it needs an A-scan with gate and gain control.
Guide FAQ
The questions that come up most when teams first look at pole-based inspection.
Do I need scaffolding or rope access?
Is one pole enough for every module?
Is a thickness gauge included?
Can it read thickness through paint or coatings?
What about training and warranty?
How do I order?
Build Your Quote
Add the pole, modules and extras to your quote list as you browse the product pages, and they'll appear here automatically. Then send everything in one request.
Quote Request Sent!
Thank you, your ALTUM enquiry is on its way to the SepcoTech team. We'll respond within one business day with pricing, configuration notes and availability.