XactSense offers view from above

HIGH ASPIRATIONS: Andy Trench, CEO of Warwick-based XactSense Inc., flies a drone carrying a lightweight laser scanner. / COURTESY XACTSENSE
HIGH ASPIRATIONS: Andy Trench, CEO of Warwick-based XactSense Inc., flies a drone carrying a lightweight laser scanner. / COURTESY XACTSENSE

Andy Trench was building drones to fly cameras for filming when he was posed with a challenge: Assess the condition of a 60-foot-tall cupola atop a 100-year-old Pawtucket church.

The challenge resulted in the production of a lightweight laser scanner small enough to be carried by a drone. After building an unmanned aerial vehicle – commonly known as a drone – large enough to carry the equipment, Trench, Kyla Coburn and Peter Haas in late 2014 started XactSense Inc., a drone and scientific-equipment company.

“The highest demand for our tools lies within the industries involved in inspecting wind turbines, power lines, cell towers, disaster areas, coastal erosion and various construction sites,” said Coburn, who is chief marketing officer.

XactSense was accepted into the Massachusetts-based business-accelerator program MassChallenge Inc., which started in June. The Warwick startup was named a winner in October and awarded $50,000.

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“I am proud of the impact a couple of Rhode Island artists have made in a high-speed, high-tech industry,” Coburn said. •

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