Using a 360-degree video camera attached to a small tethered blimp flying hundreds of feet in the air, Tamir Sagie and his employees are able to constantly scan six to ten square miles of ground.
It's a capability that has not gone unnoticed by law enforcement agencies, TV broadcasters, concert promoters and state emergency response agencies.
"There is a segment of the surveillance industry that is 99.999 percent populated by engines and machines that are not equipped for the needs of providing a real-time video feed from a bird's-eye view, " says Sagie, CEO of TopEyeView, Inc.
Sagie's company, which is based in Norcross, was founded in June of last year to provide aerial video surveillance from small blimps and the small unmanned planes known as drones. Sagie says his company is based on the idea that small blimps and drones are much more cost effective than fixed-wing planes and helicopters, not mention massive airships like the Goodyear Blimp.
Sagie says aerial video surveillance taken from blimps and drones is now being used for natural disaster response, patrolling national borders, TV broadcasting and event security.
"If you look at the world like an onion, in layers, you have the satellite images which are not available to the average law enforcement agency or broadcaster. Then you have things like the Goodyear Blimp, which is not available to the broader market," he says. "Then you have the tactical (law enforcement and military) market, which is mostly dominated by fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters."
Sagie, who is a native of Israel and has lived in the U.S. for the last 14 years, studied photography and computer science in college. Later he formed his first startup company, called Smart IL, a tech firm that eventually merged with a larger company – a move Sagie regrets.
"TopEyeView is the sum of my past mistakes and a lot of very deep research," he says.
Four years ago Sagie decided to find an Israeli-developed technology that could be successfully commercialized in the U.S.
"I started researching 830 Israeli companies to find interesting technologies," he says. "Then I was able to narrow it down to 30 technologies that had promise, out of which I only liked three."
Sagie partnered with firms producing surveillance equipment for Israeli law enforcement, as well as video, mapping and other products from U.S.-based companies.
"It's not like I invented anything," he says. "I'm not the smartest guy in the room. I'm trying to package this technology in a more useful way for local users."
TopEyeView currently has seven employees in Norcross and three in Europe. Sagie says the company can provide many of its services using a mobile crew of three. He says the company expects to open a new office in Texas within the next six months.
Sagie is confident that TopEyeView can save customers money and appeal to a lot of government agencies and private companies with a strong value-added proposition.
"We're in an industry that will enjoy constant growth," Sagie says. "I think if you're looking at my universe, market trends have shifted dramatically in the past year, so you're looking a set of attributes that favors the kinds of products and services provide d by TopEye."
Last month TopEyeView announced that it retained RockBridge Capital Partners, Inc to provide financing in the form of common equity, senior debt and leasing of the blimps. Combined with a previous round of private financing, TopEyeView expects to raise at least $3 million.
"This is an exciting time in the aerial video surveillance space and we are delighted to be a part of the team," says Bill Lockhart, managing partner of RockBridge Capital.
At A Glance:
Company name: TopEyeView, Inc.
HQ: Norcross
Year founded: 2007
CEO: William Doyle
Employees: 10
What they do: TopEyeView provides aerial video surveillance services for a wide variety of applications. The company uses small tethered blimps and unmanned aerial drones fitted with remote-controlled video cameras.
How does it work?
- The 30-feet long blimp is filled with helium and tethered to a towable winch. The blimp is then fitted with a lightweight electronic payload consisting of a remote-controlled camera capable of both daytime and nighttime use.
- The blimp operates at low altitudes of around 500 feet, thereby not interfering with other air operations.
- Crucial video information from the optics can be easily transmitted to any static or mobile command centers, as well as portable electronic devices.
- TopEyeView also uses an M25 Mini UAV "drone," which weighs less than 13 pounds and resembles a model airplane. The drone is capable of two and a half hours of surveillance before returning to the ground.
- The system units are mobile and can easily be transported between locations and settings, according to operational needs
Has it been put to use yet?
Yes. TopEyeView CEO Tamir Sagie says Israeli police have used similar technology for the past eight years and that government agencies here are beginning to use this type of low-cost aerial surveillance more and more.
TopEyeView recently provided an array of aerial video services for a Madonna concert at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The event promoter Live Nation contracted with the firm to supply it with all kinds of video, including real-time traffic monitoring, parking lot surveillance and even live aerial shots that were displayed on stage during the performance.
