Relevant product: ReX 100

As concrete infrastructure continues to grow alongside aging assets, structural audits are essential not only for older structures but also for newly constructed ones to ensure quality, safety, and longevity. These audits are becoming more frequent and are often mandated by regulatory bodies. Their primary objective is to assess the current condition of a structure, identify any signs of deterioration, and recommend appropriate interventions to maintain safety, enhance durability, and ensure compliance with applicable codes.

Conventionally, non-destructive testing (NDT) utilizes tests such as rebound hammer, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), carbonation depth, and half-cell potential mapping. However, most of these tools assess surface or material properties and do not reveal the critical internal layout and sizing of reinforcement.

Method	What it tells	What it misses
Rebound hammer	Surface hardness	Reinforcement condition/location
UPV	Internal voids/cracks	Bar layout, diameter, cover
Carbonation test	Carbonation depth	Rebar status or placement
Half-cell mapping	Corrosion potential	Only valid if bar location is known

This is where a rebar scanner like ReX 100 becomes indispensable. Much like a medical MRI or CT scan, ReX 100 lets engineers “see inside” the concrete, accurately locating rebars, measuring concrete cover, and estimating bar diameter, all without damaging the structure.

Until now, rebar scanners came with a critical flaw: they required separate scans for rebar location, and for measurement of cover depth and diameter. This fragmented process often resulted in:

• Measurement inconsistencies: Different scan points for localization and cover & diameter measurement led to data mismatch
• Inefficiency: Five to ten minutes spent per scan instead of a few seconds
• Higher costs: More labor and longer inspection times
• Inaccurate assessments: Compromised safety and durability decisions

Developed at IIT Bombay and engineered by Nirixense Technologies, the ReX 100 solves these problems with a single revolutionary leap: TriDynamic Intelligence. This innovation combines advanced electromagnetic sensing with real-time edge AI to deliver all three parameters in a single scan, in a matter of a few seconds:

• Accurate rebar location mapping
• Instant cover depth measurement
• Reliable bar sizing, even without drawings

With all data processed dynamically in real-time on the Android mobile app, ReX 100 eliminates the need for any post-processing, delivering instant, actionable insights right at the site.

Traditional methods like trial pits or chipping are destructive, slow, and often restricted, especially on sensitive structures such as heritage buildings or operational assets. Alternatives such as GPR and X-ray testing come with their own set of challenges:

• GPR often produces unreliable or noisy data on structures with moisture, surface roughness, and dense reinforcement
• X-ray testing requires access to the structure from both sides, involves radiation safety protocols, and is impractical in occupied or constrained environments

ReX 100 offers a smarter alternative, non-invasive, precise, and field-proven, aligned with key standards:

• IS 13311 — Establishes the framework for non-destructive testing of concrete, including guidance on cover measurements and reinforcement detection using cover meters
• BS 1881:204 — Provides recommendations on the use of electromagnetic cover meters for estimating reinforcement position, depth, and size in concrete
• BS EN 12504-5 — Focuses on electromagnetic devices and their operation principles for estimating cover
• IRC SP:040-2019 — Use of rebar scanner to check cover of reinforcement in bridges, in accordance with BS 1881:204

With ReX 100, engineers gain high-fidelity data quickly and safely, without damaging the structure making it the trusted tool for modern diagnostics and compliance-driven audits.

Pinpoint rebar location: Knowing rebar position is essential for assessing cover, spacing, diameter, and conducting durability tests like half-cell potential mapping, all without damaging the structure. This is important for verifying reinforcement independently of drawings and prevent bar hits during drilling/coring.

Accurate cover depth measurement: Cover depth is the first line of defense against corrosion, fire, and environmental damage. Accurate cover depth measurement is essential for flagging durability non-compliance, identifying vulnerable zones, and supporting targeted repairs and coatings.

Reliable rebar diameter measurement: When drawings are missing or outdated, accurate bar sizing is critical for capacity evaluation and retrofit design. Reliable rebar diameter measurement is essential for load checks and modeling, guiding retrofit strategy (e.g., FRP, jacketing), and eliminating unsafe assumptions in analysis.

In today’s performance-driven and compliance-critical infrastructure landscape, partial data leads to partial decisions, and that’s a risk no asset owner, structural auditor, or repair and retrofitting consultant can afford. ReX 100 is no longer optional; it’s essential. More than just a rebar scanner, it’s a precision tool that delivers actionable insights unmatched by other NDT methods.

• Ensures codal compliance of projects with various Indian and global standards
• Speeds up audits with non-invasive, repeatable, and disruption-free testing, without high cost
• Elevates safety by enabling accurate durability and structural assessments
• Prevents structural damage and safety risks before drilling or cutting
• Drives smarter retrofitting and cost-efficient repair strategies
• Feeds digital workflows with high-fidelity data for modeling, asset scoring, and lifecycle planning

© 2025 Nirixense Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. email: connect@nirixense.com

About the Authors: Dr. Sauvik Banerjee is Co-founder & Director at Nirixense Technologies, and Professor at Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay. His experience includes structural health monitoring, using wave propagation and vibration-based approaches, quantitative non-destructive evaluation of structures, non-destructive testing, modelling of advanced composite structures, structural retrofitting and impact response of structures. He obtained Ph.D. degree from UCLA (Mechanical Engineering, 2003), and M.Tech. from IIT Bombay (Civil Engineering, 2001).

Dr. Siddharth Tallur is Co-founder & Director at Nirixense Technologies, and Associate Professor at Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay. His experience includes development of high resolution and low-cost sensors, high-speed instrumentation and embedded smart sensing systems. He obtained M.S.-Ph.D. degree from Cornell University (ECE, 2013), and B.Tech. from IIT Bombay (EE, 2008).

Note: This article presents the authors’ personal views and insights drawn from their expertise as faculty members at IIT Bombay. The content is intended solely for thought leadership and knowledge sharing. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of IIT Bombay.