SkyeBrowse Raises $2.3M Seed Round
The SkyeBrowse team has grown from 4 people to 24 people
Cranbury, N.J., February 28, 2022
Bobby Ouyang was a junior at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 2016 when he started working on a research project with Dr. Peter Jin, a tenured professor at the Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation. Dubbed “The Drone Project,” it would, over the next few years of research and development, evolve into the advent of SkyeBrowse, a video-based 3D modelling platform using drone technology.
When Bobby was involved in a motorcycle accident in 2017, The Drone Project stopped being a side gig. Hours after the accident, first responders were still performing accident reconstruction, which also caused additional traffic on scene. At that point, Bobby realized the inefficiencies of accident reconstruction and decided to build SkyeBrowse full time.
What sets SkyeBrowse apart from other 3D mapping technologies is that it uses patented videogrammetry technology which layers thousands of high-resolution video frames to create a clearer, more accurate model than the traditional photogrammetry, which uses still images only. Due to SkyeBrowse’s video capture, the drone does not slow down to take pictures, which results in significantly quicker capture time – 50 acres can be mapped in just 5 minutes. In addition, SkyeBrowse models take 10 minutes to process, compared to the hours of processing via traditional photogrammetry.
SkyeBrowse was created as a solution to an issue that has long plagued law enforcement: the sheer amount of time it takes to manually take measurements and reconstruct an accident scene. With SkyeBrowse, users can launch a DJI or Autel drone in one tap to autonomously fly above the accident scene and capture it on video in just 2 minutes. Once the video is uploaded to the SkyeBrowse site from the drone’s SD card, a 3D model that’s accurate to the centimeter is generated within minutes. Compared to the 5 hours it takes to perform traditional accident reconstruction with a team of experts, this technology is a game changer.
Since the launch in January 2020, the team of 4 at SkyeBrowse developed 3 pieces of cutting-edge technologies that competitors have not been able to replicate. These technologies include:
- 1 tap 3D modeling with the world’s fastest processing time
- The best night time 3D modeling AI
- Real-time thermal reality capture
SkyeBrowse has saved law enforcement departments over 50,000 hours of manpower and $5 million on accident reconstruction. As a result, SkyeBrowse has reduced traffic in the United States by over 5,000 hours. Notable SkyeBrowse customers include LA Port Police, Utah State Fire Marshal’s Office, Houston Forensics Science Center, and New Zealand Police Department.
The $2.3M round was led by Signia Ventures, with participation from Unpopular Ventures, Nick Osgood (DroneBase), Johann Beishline (Pilot Institute), James Isilay (Cognism), and 7 other angel investors. With this raise, the SkyeBrowse team has grown from 4 people to 24 people – half of which are engineers. The money will be used to build further technologies to simplify pain points for first responders and the United States Armed Forces.
About SkyeBrowse:
SkyeBrowse is the fastest and easiest drone reality capture platform in the world. Designed by first responders for first responders, SkyeBrowse allows anyone to make a 3D model at the press of a button. With over 5,000 accidents documented on their
CJIS-compliant servers with chain of custody, the New Jersey-based company is trusted by over 200 agencies in the United States. Learn more at www.skyebrowse.com.
