SkySpecs

SkySpecs' is an autonomous drone solution, creating easier, faster & more efficient ways for enterprises to inspect critical infrastructure.

A team of four U-M students has founded SkySpecs, a company that will develop and produce autonomous aerial vehicles for commercial and industrial use to safely reach and inspect tall or otherwise hard-to-reach structures, such as bridges and tall wind turbines. The four founders of SkySpecs include Sam DeBruin (BSE CE ‘12 and current CSE graduate student) and Ryan Moore (BSE CE ‘11). Rounding out the team are Danny Ellis, who holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from U-M and who is now working toward a dual master's degree in Aerospace Engineering and Entrepreneurship; and Tom Brady, who recently completed his master's in Aerospace Engineering. The company currently has two employees in addition to the founders. Although less than a year old, SkySpecs appears poised for success and has raised $100,000 from private investors and business competitions, including $50,000 from placing first in the recent Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge. The company had its genesis in the Michigan Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (MAAV) student team, which Ellis founded in 2009 in order to build an autonomous flying robot to compete in the annual International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC). In 2012, the MAAV team – which included all four future SkySpecs founders – placed first in the IARC, outperforming 20 other teams from around the world.