Mach9 Robotics Accelerates Geospatial Data Processing for Infrastructure Industry

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Autonomous vehicles, delivery robots and aerial drones rely on geospatial data, as do construction and utilities. Mach9 Robotics Inc. said it takes 3D data from lidar scans and turns it into 2D and 3D engineering models faster and cheaper than conventional methods.

“Just as CAD software enabled GPS to revolutionize the surveying industry, we set out to build powerful tools that could unlock the potential of mobile mapping,” the company said. “We’re building the fastest geospatial production software that can simplify and interpret complex 3D data sets into engineering drawings at incredible speeds.”

“We are creating a new category — automated geospatial data production and detailed mapping,” said Alexander Baikovitz, co-founder and CEO of Mach9.

Baikovitz worked under Chuck and Red Whittaker at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), as well as at the U.S. Department of Energy, DARPA, and other infrastructure companies.

“We built a lot of systems and, in retrospect, we realized that we were solving a lot of serious geodetic and cartographic problems, not just purely robotic problems,” he said. Work report“A lot of the technology that we developed at Carnegie Mellon could be immediately applied to automating a lot of really complex, labor-intensive workflows in an industry that has significant labor shortages.”

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Mach9 focuses on automatic image processing

The global infrastructure market is estimated at $3 trillion, Mach9 Robotics said. The Pittsburgh-based company started out building hardware for mobile mapping systems, combining lidar and imaging sensors.

“We inevitably transitioned the company into a software-only offering that we call Mach9 Digital Surveyor,” Baikovitz recalls. “We built software to automatically extract features from large sets of lidar and imaging data, a process that is typically done manually and using computer-aided design (CAD) software.”

Mach9 has left mobile lidar data collection to companies like Trimble and Riegl, while drone service providers like Skydio are pursuing the competitive field of drone data and photogrammetry, Baikovitz said.

“There’s more and more information out there, and we’re helping our partners turn it into maps and products that can be used for decision-making, design, asset management and other workflows,” he said. “We’re delivering a lot of information in a variety of ways that are tailored to what our customers are looking for. We work very closely with our partners to make sure our software is delivering the insights and information they want and need.”

The Mach9 product can cut processing time from two to four days per mile to 10 minutes, Beikovitz said. He said it allows surveyors to be more productive and take on larger projects.

“There are a lot of tools that will use SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) or sensor data or just static image data, but our company is equipped to really enable the use of 3D data,” he said. “It will be a fundamental part of how 3D representations of the world, BIM (building information management), can be used to simulate and model the physical world for a wide range of infrastructure and civil engineering applications.”

Pittsburgh provides an on-ramp for startups

In addition to CMU, the Pittsburgh area offers many resources to help tech startups grow, Baikovitz said.

“There are so many opportunities for businesses to grow because of the phenomenal network of companies, educational institutions, nonprofits and the Pittsburgh Robotics Network,” Baikovitz said. “There are great grants, competitions and incubators that provide space, resources and support for organizations to get off the ground and for people of all ages and backgrounds to build businesses from the ground up.”

“It’s a very collaborative environment where people with different backgrounds help each other navigate the challenges of building first products, understanding the market, selling to first customers and ultimately building a sustainable business,” he added.

The American construction industry is starting to take

The construction industry has always been reluctant to adopt new technology, Baikovitz said, but developers who understand the sector can overcome that challenge.

“Of course, there are challenges in introducing technology into industries that software doesn’t serve well, and the reason for that is that there are established workflows for getting things done,” he explained. “Construction and infrastructure are some of the largest GDP spenders worldwide and are often the largest consumers of materials and labor of any industry.”

Baikovitz said demonstrating the ability to solve problems for partners helped Mach9 understand the broader value proposition.

“One of our first partners was Michael Baker International, an architecture and engineering firm based in Pittsburgh, and the people there have had a phenomenal impact on understanding the industry,” he noted. “Our technology and services can be combined to solve problems for professionals working in everything from transportation infrastructure to media and telecommunications, rail and many other key industries.”

Mach9 partners with leading CAD and GIS vendors and plans to partner with construction management and asset management software vendors.

“Whether it’s autonomous driving, personal robotics, or broad geospatial platforms, it’s all going to come down to data interoperability,” Baikovitz said. “That’s a challenge that many organizations and industries are grappling with. There’s definitely a lot of work to be done to make sure that all of these different data formats—whether they’re collected from robots or sensor systems or manually generated by humans—are accessible, addressable, and open.”

“The United States has recognized that infrastructure is underfunded,” he said. “We are excited to support some of the most important projects of our generation, with many of the engineering firms, construction organizations and others building the future of American infrastructure.”

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