Aerial Precision bags €760K to manufacture intelligent LiDAR for commercial drones and mobile vehicles

Aerial Precision, a company that provides 3D sensor modules for commercial drones, announced on Thursday that it has raised €760,000 in an expansion round of funding. 

The company creates and develops hardware and software that can be mounted on commercial drones and other mobile vehicles to provide a solution for the current limited usage of 3D map generation. 

Aerial Precision’s main headquarters is in Maastricht, and the company also maintains a presence at DronePort in Sint-Truiden in the Limburg province of Belgium. 

The company says the proceeds will help it to expand its product range, protect its technology, and pursue software development and commercial growth.

Investors in this round

The investment was made by Belgian investment company LRM, located in the Belgian province of Limburg, as well as by the Dutch regional development agency LIOF, based just across the border in the Dutch province of Limburg. 

It’s the first joint investment for both LRM and LIOF. LIOF’s investment came from its recently established Limburg Startup Capital Fund, which aims to realise the growth ambitions of innovative startups.

Tys van Elk, LIOF’s MD, says, “Aerial Precision retains its headquarters in Maastricht, but will also be operating out of DronePort, the incubator site in Sint-Truiden for companies active in the unmanned aircraft sector. The company will be part of the knowledge-based ecosystem there, and this expertise will be of great value for future product development. This joint investment with LRM shows the strength Euregio has in technological innovation.”

LRM is an investment firm that develops and stimulates economic growth in Belgian Limburg. The firm claims to provide a solid growth foundation for companies and projects that create jobs in the region. Together with Belgian Limburg’s major assets, LMR’s financial resources and industry knowledge create a unique growth environment.

LIOF is the regional development agency for Limburg and supports “innovative” entrepreneurs with advice, network and funding. The company is prepared to assist any startup, scale-up, and SME with an original concept, a viable business plan, or a funding request, as well as any (foreign) business owners looking to establish a presence in Limburg. LIOF also supports international trade and cross-border collaboration.

Manufacturing LiDAR sensors for commercial drones and mobile vehicles

Founded in 2018 by Vicente Payo-Ollero, Aerial Precision designs and manufactures intelligence-driven 3D sensing systems and software for commercial drones and mobile vehicles. The company focuses on delivering information that is ready to be used in the decision-making processes. This information is extracted from 3D spatial data (point clouds) captured with the sensors.

Additionally, Aerial Precision also develops all the accompanying software to process and analyse data from the sensor modules. The 3D sensor modules can be fitted onto commercial drones as well as agricultural vehicles, and used for a wide range of applications.

Vicente Payo-Ollero, Aerial Precision’s founder and CEO, says, “The existing application in 3D mapping (photogrammetry and LiDAR technology) is time-consuming, expensive, and not in real-time. The unique technology, which we have developed, offers accurate, real-time 3D mapping at an affordable price. This makes the technology accessible to a wide range of industries, including construction, forestry and agriculture, telecommunications, and energy, as well as to the police force and cultural sector.”

Through the app, users can adjust the sensor module’s settings and instantly evaluate the data. To process the data, users don’t need any specific skills. For instance, the sensor technologies and modules may be used to identify whether crops require more or less fertiliser or to identify potentially harmful substances.

Currently, Aerial Precision employs three people. By 2024, this will have increased to eight. The company is also currently accepting orders for AP-LiDAR-One with the first units shipping by the second half of the year.