The new software platform from Mach9 generates 2D and 3D mobile LiDAR maps 30 times quicker than previous alternatives. The Pittsburgh-based firm has improved its website, hired key engineering and sales professionals, relocated to a new headquarters, and created a presence in Silicon Valley in order to support its expansion.
Mach9, a business that develops the quickest geospatial production tools, has released its first product. Using AI and computer vision, the new tool generates 2D and 3D CAD and GIS engineering outputs quicker than ever before. This product launch coincides with Mach9’s transition to a software-first business model, a shift prompted by the increased need for solutions that expedite geographic data processing and analysis for infrastructure management.
“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 amazing tools,” says Alexander Baikovitz, co-founder and CEO. “Our goal at Mach9 is to unlock this potential by creating a geospatial production platform for those that need high quality maps and actionable data fast.”
Recent advancements in data collecting via “reality capture” systems such as 360-degree cameras, remote sensing on drones, and mobile LiDAR have propelled the industry’s rapid expansion. These technologies produce unparalleled three-dimensional data on real-world objects such as buildings, roads, highways, trains, and above-ground utilities, establishing a new standard for 2D and 3D maps that is more precise and comprehensive than traditional mapping techniques. Nevertheless, these enormous data sets, which are frequently comprised of both high-resolution imagery and LiDAR point clouds, are extremely complicated and require labor- and time-intensive methods to be converted into useful maps and “Digital Twins.”
Since the company’s foundation in 2021 at Carnegie Mellon University, Mach9 has been creating sophisticated mapping and data collecting systems. Alexander Baikovitz, Haowen Shi, Michael Mong, and Zachary Sussman met at Carnegie Mellon University’s renowned Robotics Institute. Together, they recognised that their expertise designing complex robotic systems for autonomous mapping and mobility might be utilised to assist infrastructure organisations in adopting technologies that will ultimately improve the quality of everyday life.
“We found that instead of saving time and money, many infrastructure organizations were burdened with labor-intensive data manipulation,” says Zach Sussman, Mach9 co-founder and head of software engineering. “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.”
Along with the product introduction, Mach9 is investing strategically in the expansion of the firm. They recently relocated its corporate offices to Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield district, which is crucial to the city’s booming robotics network, and established a foothold in Silicon Valley with the hiring of veteran software developer Josh Dague.
Baikovitz says, “As we push the bleeding edge of mapping technology, we are planning further expansion later this year by adding more of the industry’s most talented engineers and computer vision experts to our team. Mach9 is hiring!”.
