A new startup, Stitch3D, is poised to transform the way industries work with lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, a crucial tool for creating high-precision 3D maps. Founded by U.S. Army veteran Clark Yuan, Stitch3D has developed a browser-based platform that allows users to view, share, annotate, and manage massive 3D files generated by lidar scans.

The inspiration behind Stitch3D came from a devastating fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard in 2020, which highlighted the difficulties of sharing large lidar files. Existing cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud are unable to handle these massive files, forcing users to rely on physical media like thumb drives and Blu-ray discs.

Stitch3D's platform solves this problem by storing lidar files as "point clouds," collections of millions of discrete points with x, y, and z coordinate values. This enables seamless collaboration and sharing of 3D models, which is critical in industries like the military, architecture, forestry, mining, and more.

The startup has already secured a $1.8 million grant from the Air Force to develop its technology in a secure manner, alongside a $750,000 pre-seed round from friends and family. The Air Force plans to use Stitch3D to measure coastal erosion and assess airfield damage.

Beyond its military applications, Stitch3D's platform has far-reaching potential in various industries, including augmented reality (AR). Yuan envisions a future where Stitch3D's point clouds can be used with AR devices to create interactive scans of objects or rooms.

With its innovative solution, Stitch3D is poised to revolutionize the way industries work with lidar technology, enabling faster collaboration, improved accuracy, and unprecedented insights.