# Micro-Y

> Micro-Y is a deep-tech space startup developing integrated, always-on structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for space structures. The company builds embedded thin-film resistive sensor networks and AI-driven diagnostic software that detect damage — MMOD impacts, micro-cracks, and structural fatigue — in real time, without external inspection hardware, across launch vehicles, on-orbit platforms, lunar habitats, and critical aerospace infrastructure.

## Company

Micro-Y operates through two entities:

- **MICRO-Y S.R.L.** — R&D and Engineering entity. Via Bianco da Durazzo 19, 47122 Forlì (FC), Italy. VAT / Tax Code: IT04830470409. REA: FO-444747. Email: info@micro-y.com.
- **MICRO-Y Inc.** — Commercialization entity. 2261 Market Street, STE 86336, San Francisco, CA 94114, United States. EIN: 38-4345416. Phone: +1 (628) 600-5123.

Micro-Y is a portfolio company of the ESA Business Incubation Centre Padua (ESA BIC Padua), a programme of the European Space Agency.

Founding year: 2024. Website: https://micro-y.com

## Team

- **Gilberto Romboli** — CEO & Co-Founder. Business strategy, institutional relations, investor engagement, and business development within the space and lunar infrastructure ecosystem. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilberto-romboli/
- **Michele Lombardi** — CTO & Co-Founder. Sensing systems, embedded electronics, data analysis, structural health monitoring, and technology roadmap. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-lombardi-microy/
- **Robert J. Chevalier** — US Commercial Director. 20+ years OEM sensor sales across industrial and aerospace markets. US commercial development and customer engagement. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertjchevalier-sales/
- **Marco Genghi Farina** — Electronic Engineer. Hardware design, signal conditioning, sensor readout electronics, and integration.

## Technology

Micro-Y's core innovation is an embedded thin-film resistive sensor layer integrated permanently into composite or metallic aerospace structures during fabrication. The sensor architecture performs:

- **MMOD impact detection** — real-time sub-millimetre micrometeoroid and orbital debris impact localisation via time-of-arrival triangulation across the sensor network
- **Structural fatigue monitoring** — continuous resistive-change mapping to detect crack initiation and propagation before critical failure
- **On-orbit health assessment** — always-on, autonomous diagnostics without external inspection vehicles or EVA
- **Digital twin integration** — a four-layer MMOD digital twin model coupled to Bayesian inference for anomaly classification and remaining useful life estimation

The system is designed to operate in the vacuum, thermal cycling, and radiation environment of space without active maintenance.

## Applications

- Launch vehicles — structural integrity during ascent loads, acoustic excitation, and stage separation events
- On-orbit platforms — continuous monitoring of solar panels, docking structures, pressure vessels, and truss elements against MMOD impacts and fatigue
- Space habitats — long-duration monitoring of crew habitat pressure shells and load-bearing structures for lunar or Mars missions
- Critical aerospace infrastructure — any composite or metallic structure where embedded sensing reduces inspection cost and improves safety margins

## Research & Publications

- **"Embedded Thin-Film Sensor Networks for Structural Health Monitoring of Long-Duration Lunar and Orbital Infrastructure"** — Robert J. Chevalier, Gilberto Romboli. Presented at Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) Spring Meeting, April 2026.
- **"Bayesian-Driven Structural Health Monitoring for Spacecraft via In-Situ Resistive Film Sensing and a Four-Layer MMOD Digital Twin"** — Gilberto Romboli, Michele Lombardi, Robert J. Chevalier. Presented at AI4SPACE 2026.

## Key Events & Milestones

- Sep 2025 — First public technology presentation at Big Data From Space (BiDS) 2025, Riga, Latvia
- Dec 2025 — MICRO-Y S.r.l. incorporated in Italy
- Feb 2025 — MICRO-Y Inc. incorporated in the United States
- Jan 2026 — Selected for ESA Business Incubation Centre Padua
- Apr 2026 — Attendance at LSIC Spring Meeting 2026, Washington DC / Laurel MD
- May 2026 — Attendance at Space Meetings Veneto 2026, Venice, Italy

## Pages

- [Home](https://micro-y.com/)
- [Technology](https://micro-y.com/technology)
- [Applications](https://micro-y.com/applications)
- [Updates](https://micro-y.com/updates)
- [Research & IP](https://micro-y.com/research)
- [About](https://micro-y.com/about)
- [Contact](https://micro-y.com/contact)
- [Privacy Policy](https://micro-y.com/privacy-policy)
- [Cookie Policy](https://micro-y.com/cookie-policy)
- [Legal Notice](https://micro-y.com/legal-notice)