New drilling machine quickly and economically cuts through the hardest rocks in the world

Petra’s semi-autonomous drilling machine is part of a push to move utility lines underground, reducing the risk of wildfires

Spotted: San Francisco-based company Petra recently announced that it has successfully completed a 20-foot demonstration tunnel through the Earth’s hardest rock.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Kim Abrams and Chief Product Officer Shivani Torres, Petra is the first robotics company to focus on moving utility lines underground.

Petra’s semi-autonomous drilling machine, named Swifty, is able to cut through hard bedrock that would destroy normal drilling equipment. Swifty is able to do this because it uses superheated gas to pulverise the rock without physically touching it. Petra also offers the first reverse-tunneling technology, ‘making machine maintenance and cutter head rescue possible’.

Swifty was designed to make underground utility lines more economically viable given the context of above-ground power lines contributing to a succession of Californian wildfires. Kim Abrams explains, “By delivering the first non-contact, boring-robot that affordably undergrounds utilities through bedrock, we can protect communities around the world from exposure to wildfires and ensure the safety of critical infrastructure in disaster-prone areas.”

Over the next year, Petra plans to extend its partnership with utility and construction companies as well as further developing a commercial version of Swifty for longer distances.

Other innovations that tackle the risk of wildfire include an AI-mapping tool that helps firefighters assess burn risk, and fire-starting drones that initiate controlled burns.