To Boldly Map Where No One Has Mapped Before: Emesent Raises $23 Million To Further Expand Drone Autonomy And Surveying

To Boldly Map Where No One Has Mapped Before: Emesent Raises $23 Million To Further Expand Drone Autonomy And Surveying

Founded in 2018, Emesent, the Australian headquartered drone autonomy and mapping technology provider announced on February 18, 2022 that it had raised AUD 32 million (USD 23 million) in Series A funding led by Perennial Partners, an Australian venture capital firm along with significant contributions from Tiger Global and TELUS Ventures. Emesent plans to use the capital to expand its engineering team as well as geographical footprint by opening offices in the UK and US. The focus of providing an end-to-end data management solution will inevitably be beneficial for customers and potential partners alike.

Hovermap, Emesent’s flagship product, shines light on previously unmapped areas. Using LiDAR (light detection and ranging), RADAR’s high frequency cousin, Hovermap can rapidly create 3D visualizations. The versatility and lightweight nature of the product allows scans to be conducted either terrestrially, on a backpack, or aerially via a drone mount.

Since Hovermap collects location data in real time, it enables drones to fly autonomously even in the most extreme environments: underground, in the dark, or in GPS denied environments. The benefits posed to customers in terms of time savings and improvements to worker safety are immense. Glencore’s Mount Isa mines after implementing Hovermap was able to reduce the time taken to scan drives and voids from two hours to 30 minutes as well as reduce production delays and safety risks for the survey team.

In the Verdantix 2021 global corporate survey, 66% of the 256 executives in operations, maintenance, engineering and process safety roles mentioned 3D visualization as an important criterion when evaluating software applications for industrial asset management. Asset performance management and asset integrity software providers such as GE Digital and Cenosco as well as service providers such as FrostByte Consulting looking to strengthen their product portfolio by offering customers visual digital twins should consider partnering with Emesent.

Once the US’s FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and other general aviation authorities worldwide relax their regulation surrounding drone flights beyond visual line of sight we will see an explosion of use of autonomous drones in industrial environments. When this shift, inevitably, happens in the next few years demand for autonomy-enabling solutions will mirror that explosive growth. Investors are bullish and so are we.

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