Emesent spun out from Csiro earlier this year to market an underground drone that could help mining firms build an improved picture of their operations.

Emesent, an underground mapping technology spinout from Australia-based research institute Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Csiro), has obtained A$3.5m ($2.5m) in a round led by Csiro’s Innovation Fund, ZDNet has reported.
The round also featured private investor Andy Greig. Csiro Innovation Fund is managed by Main Sequence Ventures and includes a $21.5m commitment from Csiro and approximately $50m from the Australian government.
Founded in May 2018, Emesent has created an underground drone called Hovermap which collects data from a lidar sensor to build 3D maps of subterranean environments, potentially offering mining companies improved geological understanding without the need for dangerous manual excursions.
Hovermap was tested in a pilot scheme at 600 metres below surface last year and is currently being used in Australia, the US, Canada, China and Japan. Emesent will use the capital to increase its headcount to 25 as it looks to continue commercialising the product.
Stefan Hrabar, head of a Csiro research team focused on remotely piloted aircraft, co-founded Emesent with Farid Kendoul, who departed Csiro in October 2018 after nine years working as a research scientist.
Hrabar, who now also acts as CEO of Emesent, said: “Hovermap enables the mining industry to safely inspect inaccessible areas of underground mines while improving the type and quality of data collected to unlock new insights.”
– Feature image courtesy of Emesent.