August 25, 2017
SOUTH BEND, Ind., – Figuro3D, a company based in South Bend, Indiana, has been awarded an Elevate Ventures High-Potential Startup Grant (HPSG). Figuro3D makes 3D scanners optimized for speed, ease of use and cost effectiveness to accelerate manufacturing quality control procedures.
Elevate Ventures provides HPSGs to help entrepreneurs overcome hurdles to attain a specific measurable milestone. This pre-seed program awards up to $25,000 to high-potential startups in regions where communities have invested in entrepreneurism.
“High-Potential Startup Grants are critical to the region,” said Elevate Ventures Chief Executive Officer Chris LaMothe. “Elevate Ventures’ partnership in North Central Indiana with Startup South Bend Elkhart and increased capital investments are acting as catalysts in the region to expand entrepreneurial activity.”
Figuro3D states that this funding allows them to accelerate prototype development and create a market ready product.
“The Elevate Ventures HPSG funding and suite of Indiana technical startup services has accelerated our product design and fabrication timeline to help our Indiana homed company develop new 3D scanning tools which will increase Indiana and regional manufacturing competitiveness,” said Figuro3D Chief Executive Officer Dr. Paul Brenner, PE.
Figuro3D founders led technical development for the Digital Historical Architecture Research and Materials Analysis (DHARMA) project at the University of Notre Dame, where they created photo realistic digital 3D models of World Heritage Sites, such as the Roman Forum and the Taj Mahal. Following a demonstration of related 3D computing technology at a scientific computing conference, the founders realized there was a large market for more cost effective, faster and easier to use products.
“Our aim is to make 3D scanning as easy as taking a picture,” said Chief Operations Officer Robert Kuang, PE, MBA. “During site visits, we found that the scanning process is more complex, tedious and expensive than just performing the physical scan. Technicians have to paint, dry and place points of reference on the object before starting the scanning process. After they are done, they also need expensive computers to process the data. Figuro3D scanners will eliminate that lost time and needless extra cost.”
3D scanning has many applications, including changing the way products are designed, safety is ensured, medical procedures are conducted and heritage is recorded. However, scanning time and complexity is one of the biggest factors hindering the wider adoption of 3D scanning technology. By reducing the scan time from several minutes to several seconds, Figuro3D is creating a product that is more versatile and can be used in more applications.
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About Figuro3D:
Figuro3D makes cost effective scanners that integrate multiple point clouds from cutting edge time of flight sensors with high resolution camera images to capture high dimensionally accurate 3D object files; via patent pending software algorithms and proprietary hardware. The scanners can be networked into a scanner array for custom component shapes and sizes allowing nearly instantaneous full object capture. Figuro3D scanning products are complemented by a number of customizable software components and project specific engineering support services. Learn more about Figuro3D at figuro3d.com.
About Elevate Ventures:
Elevate Ventures is a private venture development organization that nurtures and develops emerging and existing high-potential businesses into high-performing, Indiana-based companies. Elevate Ventures accomplishes this by providing access to capital, rigorous business analysis and robust advisory services that connect companies with the right mix of resources businesses need to succeed long-term. Learn more about Elevate Ventures at elevateventures.com.
Media Contacts
Robert Kuang (Figuro3D) – 312.884.9762 or robert.kuang@figuro3d.com
Alisha Estabrook (Elevate Ventures) – 317.975.1917 or aestabrook@elevateventures.com
