Videogrammetry StartUp SkyeBrowse Raises $2.3 Million Seed Round – and Team Grows from 4 to 24

SkyeBrowse Raises $2.3M, Team Grows from 4 to 24

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

In 2016, Bobby Ouyang was a junior at Rutgers University, where he started working with Dr. Peter Jin, a tenured professor at the Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, on a research project that would eventually evolve into the advent of SkyeBrowse, a video-based 3D modeling platform using drone technology.

It was his involvement in a motorcycle accident in 2017 that made Bobby decide to develop SkyeBrowse full time, with him realizing the inefficiencies of accident reconstruction when it was still being performed by first responders hours after the accident, causing additional traffic on scene.

SkyeBrowse distinguishes itself from other 3D mapping technologies with its use of patented videogrammetry technology that layers thousands of high-resolution video frames to create a clearer, more accurate model than is provided by traditional photogrammetry, which relies on only still images. SkyeBrowse’s video capture means the drone does not need to slow down to take pictures, resulting in significantly quicker capture time – 50 acres can be mapped in only 5 minutes. SkyeBrowse models also finish processing in only 10 minutes, rather than the hours required by traditional photogrammetry.

Designed to reduce the amount of time taken to record measurements and reconstruct an accident scene, SkyeBrowse enables users to deploy a DJI or Autel drone in one tap to autonomously fly above the accident scene and capture it on video in only 2 minutes. Upon the video’s upload to the SkyeBrowse site from the drone’s SD card, an accurate 3D model is generated within minutes. This new technology provides a massive improvement over the traditional method of accident reconstruction, which takes 5 hours and requires a team of experts.

Since launching in January 2020, the team of 4 at SkyeBrowse developed 3 innovative pieces of technologies that have yet to be replicated elsewhere, including 1 tap 3D modeling with the fastest processing time, the leading night time 3D modeling AI, and real-time thermal reality capture.

SkyeBrowse, whose customers include LA Port Police, Utah State Fire Marshal’s Office, Houston Forensics Science Center, and New Zealand Police Department, has saved law enforcement departments over 50,000 hours of manpower and $5 million on accident reconstruction, and reduced traffic in the United States by over 5,000 hours.

SkyeBrowse’s $2.3M seed 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. The raise has allowed SkyeBrowse’s team of 4 to welcome 20 new employees – half of which are engineers. The money will be leveraged to build further technologies to assist first responders and the United States Armed Forces.

Read more about SkyeBrowse:

• Videogrammetry for Thermal Mapping: Game Changing Technology for First Responders
• The Newest Advance in 3D Modeling: Videogrammetry

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.