About Us
This is how it began...
Our story begins with the nationally recognized research conducted by of our founder, Dr. Alper Yilmaz. Alper is a professor of Geo-Informatics with appointments in Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering; Computer Science; and an honorary appointment to the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University. Ever since Alper defended his PhD dissertation, titled “Object Tracking and Activity Recognition in Video Acquired Using Mobile Cameras”, in 2004, he has been considered an expert in determining position, movement and interaction of objects in 3-dimensional space. The Department of Defense, National Geospatial Agency, NASA, and industry partners have provided over $11 million in funding to Dr. Yilmaz over the last decade. Most of this research has involved accurately determining how objects move and interact with each other without the use of GPS or other RF location technologies.
Dr. Yilmaz’s work for NASA was particularly exciting, as he and his colleagues were tasked with providing future astronauts with the means to accurately navigate the moon (or someday, Mars) where there is no GPS to guide them. Dr. Yilmaz invented a solution that uses artificially intelligent tracking tags and visual based navigation to successfully address NASA’s research challenge. Dr. Yilmaz was granted a patent for this NASA innovation. Determined that this space-based invention had commercial value here on Earth, Alper founded Ubihere. The company officially launched in 2018 when Ohio State exclusively licensed the patent to the company. Since its founding, Ubihere has attracted a team of highly experienced entrepreneurs, engineers, and experts committed to developing solutions around Alper’s research. The company is supported by dedicated partners such as Rev1 Ventures and the State of Ohio.
Since 2018, Ubihere has attracted several million dollars in venture capital funding and commercialization grants. The company has been awarded multiple Phase I and Phase II Air Force research and development contracts, and has successfully completed multiple customer-centric pilots for both Ubitrax and Ubivision. We are excited to be on the verge of commercially launching both product lines soon! Join us!
Join’s Ohio’s Premier Tech Incubator
UbiHere Accepted to Rev1
Dr. Alper Yilmaz’s acceptance into Rev1 Ventures connected his research with experienced entrepreneur-in-residence Bob Burpee, catalyzing the commercialization of Ubihere’s GPS-independent indoor tracking technology.
EVP of Government Programs
Eric Wagner Joins UbiHere
Eric Wagner joins Ubihere as Executive Vice President of Government Programs, bringing his extensive experience in technology commercialization and federal research funding in support of the company’s development and commercial launch of their geospatial solutions. Within several months of joining the company, UbiHere had received its first federal contract.
Only One per Year – Ohio State’s Best
Dr. Yilmaz Innovator of the Year
Dr. Alper Yilmaz’s acceptance into Rev1 Ventures connected his research with experienced entrepreneur-in-residence Bob Burpee, catalyzing the commercialization of Ubihere’s GPS-independent indoor tracking technology.
Best Converge Ventures Invests $500,000
UbiHere’s First Venture Funding
Dr. Alper Yilmaz’s acceptance into Rev1 Ventures connected his research with experienced entrepreneur-in-residence Bob Burpee, catalyzing the commercialization of Ubihere’s GPS-independent indoor tracking technology.
Ubihere’s UbiNav Demonstrated
Drone Flights without GPS or Operator!
Ubihere’s UbiNav system, built on Dr. Alper Yilmaz’s AI-driven computer vision research, delivers real-time, GPS-independent navigation for unmanned systems, aligning with the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime initiative to enhance autonomous operations in contested environments. For the first time, drones know where (Ubi) they are without any external information and fly missions without GPS or controllers.
UbiHere Goes All In on UbiVision
Wagner Appointed CEO
In 2023, Eric Wagner was appointed CEO of Ubihere to lead the commercial launch of UbiVision, leveraging his extensive background in lean startup, non-dilutive funding, and history of successful translation of fundamental computer vision, virtual simulation, and other aligned innovations from fundamental research to fielded systems and then to commercial solutions. Wagner has committed the majority of the company’s resources to bringing UbiVision successfully to multiple commercial markets.
Dr. Yilmaz Passes the Torch
Michael Karnes Appointed CTO
In 2024, Michael Karnes was appointed Chief Technology Officer of Ubihere after successfully founding and growing the company’s computer vision research program. He joined UbiHere in 2021 while completing his Ph.D. work under the advisement of Dr. Alper Yilmaz and has demonstrated his technical and leadership qualities over several years while leading the completion of UbiVision.
Named Columbus Business First’s “Startups to Watch in 2025”
UbiHere was named one of Columbus Business First’s “Startups to Watch in 2025” as it launched the official commercial launch of UbiVision in March. Within a month, and with no marketing, the company acquired six multi-location partners, from four distinct verticals, which have licensed its software monthly for at least six months each.
