Kairos: ensuring infrastructure safety

TYPE

Web App

YEAR

2023–ongoing

CLIENT

Consorzio Fabre
University of Pisa
Geckosoft

A PROJECT BY

Geckosoft

Inspicio was promoted by Consorzio Fabre and the University of Pisa to provide field inspectors with a unified system to assess infrastructure risks, even in remote areas with no connectivity. It needed to aggregate multiple risk types into actionable scores.

As lead designer behind Inspicio, I'm proud to contribute to a mission-critical project that supports the safety of thousands of bridges across Italy. Developed by Geckosoft in collaboration with the Faculties of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Pisa, Inspicio is part of a national digital census and risk assessment effort for critical infrastructure.

This initiative, led by the Consorzio Fabre—an alliance of universities, research institutions, and public and private entities—focuses on monitoring and evaluating structural, foundational, seismic, and hydrogeological risks. The goal: enable timely and informed maintenance and restoration of bridges and viaducts across the country.

A design challenge in a mission-critical context

Designing a mission-critical app like Inspicio posed unique UX and UI challenges. We had to ensure that hundreds of field operators, inspectors, and engineers—many working in high-stakes environments—could rely on the system under pressure, in the field, and often offline.

Offline and mobile reliability: The app had to work flawlessly even in remote areas without Internet access, on tablet devices.
Data consistency: Previously scattered, paper-based data needed to be unified into a coherent and actionable digital format.
Cognitive clarity: Risk scores and evaluations had to be not only accurate, but easily understandable—even by non-technical stakeholders—highlighting both the what and the why behind each decision.

From Risk to Action

Inspicio integrates a powerful expert system that processes technical inputs from the field and returns a detailed risk score (backed by national regulations) for each bridge. More importantly, it doesn't stop at the score: it offers clear, traceable reasoning, helping users identify exactly where to intervene and how to restore safety.

This means engineers and municipalities can make faster, smarter decisions about infrastructure interventions—often in time-sensitive scenarios.

A tool trusted nationwide

Today, Inspicio is used by hundreds of operators across Italy, from municipal inspectors to national infrastructure engineers. It supports real-time decision-making and long-term safety planning, proving that thoughtful design—even in highly technical domains—can have a tangible impact on public safety.

Our mission as a design team was clear: build an interface that empowers users to act decisively, even in extreme conditions. Inspicio reflects this goal—bridging the gap between data and action, between risk and resilience.