Workers are increasingly using 3D files to evaluate construction projects, understand damage caused by natural disasters, map crime scenes, and more. However, as 3D files have become more important, the issues associated with sharing, analyzing, and even viewing 3D files have become more apparent.
The problem is that many popular cloud service providers are not compatible with 3D files. This means that to preview a 3D scan, users must download the file to a desktop 3D app, such as that of the popular computer-aided design software AutoCAD. It also makes collaborating on 3D files difficult unless people are clustered around the same computer.
Today, Stitch3D, founded by Clark Yuan MBA ’22, helps employees get the most out of their 3D data with a cloud platform that allows users to manage, analyze, and share 3D files of any size and format. doing. The company’s suite of tools allows employees to collaborate on their 3D files, visualize data on their browser or mobile device, and even overlay 3D scans onto real-world maps.
“Think of Stitch3D as three different technology layers,” Yuan says. “The base layer is similar to DropBox, which is a secure way to share files. Additionally, it features a web browser-based 3D viewer that allows you to efficiently render 3D data and apply analysis. Distance, High The third layer, which will be released later this year, will be a mobile application that will take advantage of smartphones with built-in light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors.”
Stitch3D currently works with land surveyors, aerial surveyors, architects, and construction companies. In the long term, Yuan believes 3D data is poised to become mainstream. That’s because 3D sensors continue to get cheaper and more popular, which should lead to a wave of new 3D use cases.
“We’re seeing so many enabling technologies emerging when it comes to 3D data,” Yuan says. “We think within the next one to three years 3D data will really start to take off.”
Technology with a mission
On July 12, 2020, the U.S. Navy battleship Bonhomme Richard caught fire in San Diego Harbor and burned for four days. The Navy conducted a 3D scan of the ship to investigate the fire and assess the damage. But officers didn’t have an easy way to share scan results with other agencies.
Yuan served in the U.S. Army for seven years until 2019, and was one of the people the Navy turned to for help. He experienced his first accelerator with the Navy in 2020, where he formulated the idea for his cloud-based 3D sharing system. In September of that year, he enrolled in the MIT Sloan School of Management’s MBA program, where he took as many classes on entrepreneurship as possible.
“I spent two years at MIT to mature the idea,” Yuan recalls.
During that time, he received mentorship from the Venture Mentoring Service (VMS), participated in the MIT $100K Pitch Competition, and received funding from the MIT Sandbox.
“Sandbox funding was huge because we could use it to build prototypes and cloud computing services,” Yuan says. “As far as I know, no other school has a structured program that allows you to pitch your idea and apply for funding without being diluted.”
Yuan also participated in the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) Startup Exchange (STEX) accelerator, which gave him some key industry connections early on.
The year 2020, the year of the USS Bonhomme Richard fire, was also the year the iPhone 12 debuted as the first cell phone with a LiDAR sensor. In the years since, the cost of 3D sensors and the specialized cameras and drones they carry have continued to fall, making it easier to generate 3D data. Yuan sees this trend as an opportunity for the industry.
“The consumer world is gradually realizing the value of 3D. There are many things you can do with it.”
Helping spread 3D data
Stitch3D’s platform instantly creates 3D models from scans and provides numerous high-end analyzes useful for a variety of industries. For example, a surveyor wanted Stitch3D’s platform to provide measurements and angles from scans. Stitch3D can also connect 3D data to satellite imagery from sources such as Google Earth to provide context and reference points. The platform can also visualize feature classes such as buildings, vegetation, and water.
“We’re not just trying to help you share and view 3D files, we’re also trying to help you derive business insights from your data. Our long-term success only happens once. [large cloud platforms] Start paying attention to 3D data. ”
Stitch3D began by working with land surveyors who have been using 3D technology for decades, but has since expanded to include law enforcement, insurance companies, and construction companies, in addition to working with the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defense. It is also attracting interest from . Yuan believes the number of industries his company addresses will continue to grow as 3D data becomes more commonplace.
“We hope that our technology will help accelerate the adoption of 3D data, as sharing 3D data becomes as easy as sharing a URL link that can be embedded in an email or LinkedIn post. ,” says Yuan.
In the long term, Yuan believes the sky is the limit for the industry as 3D data matures.
“The great thing about 3D, and what we’re excited about, is that right now, anything you take a photo or video of can be replaced with 3D,” Yuan says. “Right now, people are taking a ton of photos at all sorts of places, including traffic accidents and crime scenes. But if you can do a laser scan as soon as you walk into the scene (which probably only takes two minutes), you can quickly take photos. You don’t have to worry about missing anything, you have to zoom in on the image or zoom in on a specific video frame to get all the details. If we’re talking about a car accident, emergency responders can It means we can focus on responding to emergencies rather than preserving and documenting evidence for insurance purposes.”
