Photo: LiteWave EDGE, a drone-mounted LiDAR听system to detect small underwater objects, measure shallow water depth听and survey critical underwater infrastructure
, a spinout of CU Boulder and a subsidiary of听, has been acquired by听, a leading government technology and mission support provider.
LiteWave鈥檚 core technology emerged from the lab of Jeffrey Thayer, professor emeritus and research professor in the听Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences听(College of Engineering and Applied Science). In 2011, alongside two CU Boulder graduate students, he invented a new type of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) that could 鈥榮ee鈥� objects in shallow water from above the water鈥檚 surface.
Until Thayer鈥檚 discovery, sonar was the gold standard for detecting underwater features, but its acoustic-based, underwater approach was problematic in exploring shallow waters. Thayer wanted to overcome sonar鈥檚 navigation, access and field of view limitations with LiDAR, which uses pulses of visible听light听to create a detailed, 3D picture of the desired environment. 鈥淚t was a difficult problem that people talked about using sophisticated solutions. We provided a robust solution without it being overly complex,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e proved we could do that detection with a design that would听work outside the lab.鈥�
LiteWave鈥檚 resulting Edge鈩� technology solves the problem of measuring water depth and identifying features in shallow water to a centimeter-level depth resolution. It is now used on unmanned aerial systems for mapping, surveying, hazard assessment, natural resource monitoring, disaster recovery and more.
When a university startup is created, it is the culmination of years of research and significant work by the founders to build a compelling company vision, strategy and business model. The team at Venture Partners is here to help with each step along the way,听including:
- intellectual property (IP) services,
- entrepreneurial training through the I-CorpsTM Hub West,
- a network of industry mentors,
- funding through the Lab Venture Challenge,
- the听Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator,
- fast and simple IP licensing through the Licensing with EASE庐 program,
- and many other resources.
The technology was originally licensed through CU Boulder鈥檚 Technology Transfer Office鈥攚hat鈥檚 now听Venture Partners at CU Boulder鈥攐ver a decade ago. The company worked with Thayer, who served听as LiteWave鈥檚 chief technology officer, to file patents and negotiate an agreement with Orion Space Solutions. LiteWave landed funding from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the university through CU Boulder鈥檚 Lab Venture Challenge (LVC) in 2018.听
That $125,000 LVC grant was instrumental in commercializing LiteWave鈥檚 drone-mounted LiDAR. 鈥淭hat really helped advance听the technology to the product level,鈥� said Thayer.
By leveraging grants like LVC and generating early revenue with their Edge mapping solution, LiteWave was able to 鈥渂uild an attractive and sustainable business,鈥� said Bryn Rees, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation and managing director of Venture Partners. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 remarkable about the LiteWave story is how the team was able to successfully launch and grow without raising any private investment,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a testament to Professor Thayer鈥檚 elegant innovation for underwater mapping and also to the entire LiteWave team.鈥�
Over the years, Thayer has patented related technology and has continued to work with Venture Partners. Overall, the process of bringing an invention to market 鈥渨as an eye-opening experience, and it was exciting, and it鈥檚 still exciting now,鈥� said Thayer. 鈥淏ecause there鈥檚 a new entity [Arcfield], even more momentum will accelerate things that we are hoping to get done.鈥� Post-acquisition, Thayer expects to continue in an advisory, mentoring and consulting role for Arcfield.
Today, CU Boulder鈥檚 leading-edge research continues to drive innovation with market potential and, through Venture Partners, inventors have a whole suite of options to help them navigate the commercialization process from intellectual property management, business modeling, funding, licensing and more.
