Mach9, a North American company, has launched its first software platform, capable of producing 2D and 3D maps from mobile Lidar 30x faster than existing solutions.

The company utilises Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computer vision to produce 2D and 3D CAD and GIS engineering deliverables faster than ever before, according to Mach9.

“The organizations that own and manage our infrastructure are dependent on high-quality maps. New mapping technologies, like mobile Lidar, have transformative potential for engineering and construction firms, departments of transportation, electric utilities, railroads and other government entities. However, the high costs and long wait times required to generate mapping deliverables are hampering the broad adoption of these tools,” explained Alexander Baikovitz, co-founder and CEO.

Since the company’s foundation in 2021 at Carnegie Mellon University, Mach9 has been creating cutting-edge mapping and data collection systems. Its co-founders, Alexander Baikovitz, Haowen Shi, Michael Mong and Zachary Sussman, met during their time at CMU’s world-famous Robotics Institute. They realised that their combined experiences of developing complex robotic systems for autonomous mapping and mobility could be leveraged to help infrastructure organisations adopt technologies that ultimately improve everyday life.

“We leveraged our deep understanding of AI and computer vision capabilities to build a software solution that intelligently combines information from cameras, Lidar and other sources to create a holistic and comprehensive picture of the world. Ultimately, it is a very elegant solution to a complex problem that drastically reduces the time to create 2D and 3D maps,” commented Zach Sussman, head of software engineering.

Mach9’s launch comes amidst its pivot to a software-first business model, driven by the increasing demand for tools that accelerate geospatial data processing and analysis for infrastructure management. The rapidly growing geospatial technology industry has been driven by recent advances in data collection via reality-capture solutions such as 360-degree cameras, remote sensing on drones, and mobile Lidar. However, these massive datasets, which are often composed of both high-resolution imagery and Lidar point clouds, are highly complex and require labour-intensive and time-intensive processes to convert them into usable maps and digital twins.

To keep up with its future growth, Mach9 has upgraded its website, hired key engineering and sales leaders, moved into new headquarters in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighbourhood, and established a presence in Silicon Valley. The platform is currently in beta with a select group of customers, but those interested can request a demo by completing a form on www.mach9.ai.