Company Profile 2026

Inside

Contents

1. About MĀKI3
2. MĀKI at a glance4
3. What we do5
4. Our fleet6
5. Survey & mapping7
6. Inspection, monitoring & IoT8
7. How we work9
8. Safety, quality & biosecurity10
9. Case studies11
10. Western Bay of Plenty — 11 stormwater ponds12
11. Buller — drinking-water reservoir14
12. Auckland — Hobsonville Point jetty16
13. Waikato — lakes & algae blooms18
14. Ōtorohanga — harbour & ponds19
15. Lake Ngaroto — side-scan sonar20
16. Underwater stormwater inspection21
17. Research & collaboration22
18. Development roadmap23
19. Clients & partners24
20. Contact us25

This profile is interactive: play the videos, spin the 3D pond model, and follow the links to full case studies.

About us

We go where it's hard to measure

MĀKI is a New Zealand engineering technology company, founded in 2020 and based in the Waikato.

Our team of six designs, builds and operates autonomous systems — uncrewed survey boats (USVs), underwater ROVs, ground rovers, drones and IoT sensor networks — and turns the data they collect into answers for councils, utilities, contractors and researchers.

Most companies are strong in hardware or software. We do both in-house: mechanical, electronic and communications engineering alongside our own control software, data platforms and AI. That's why we can build the right tool for a job rather than make the job fit the tool.

Our mission is to make cutting-edge engineering technology accessible to the organisations that manage New Zealand's natural and built environments — capturing data safely, efficiently and in places people shouldn't have to go.

Capabilities

What we do

From concept to deployment, every MĀKI system is built to work reliably in challenging environments — on the water, under it, and beyond.

Our fleet

The right vehicle for the site

HydromapAutonomous bathymetry USV HydrohubSampling, monitoring & bathymetry USV SludgeScanDual-frequency & multibeam sediment USV MicroScanCompact sonar boat for tight, shallow sites DeepView ROVUnderwater inspection with live video RoverGround vehicle for confined spaces AeroMapRTK drone for 3D mapping SkyDropWaterproof water-sampling drone

Survey & mapping

Above and below the waterline

Multibeam and single-beam sonar, RTK positioning and drone photogrammetry, combined into one accurate picture of the site — processed into depth maps, elevation models and 3D outputs tailored to what you need to decide.

• Depth & contour maps
• Sediment depth & volume
• Digital elevation models
• Cross-sections
• Integrated 3D models
• GIS-ready data

Services: Bathymetry · Topography · Stormwater ponds

Inspection · Monitoring · IoT

Eyes and sensors where people can't safely go

Underwater & confined-space inspection

Our ROV and rover inspect reservoirs, ponds, culverts, outlets and structures with live HD video — no draining, no divers, no confined-space entry.

Water-quality monitoring & sampling

Our sampling vessel profiles the water column with a precision winch: chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, turbidity, DO, pH and temperature, plus 3 L samples from up to 15 m deep.

IoT & AI cameras

Solar-powered AI cameras detect pest animals such as wallabies at the edge, in remote places with little power or signal. Data flows to live dashboards and alerts.

More: Reservoir inspection · Environmental monitoring · Solutions

Process

How we work

One team from the first call to the final data — no hand-offs between a hardware supplier, a survey crew and a data processor.

1. 01

   Scope

   We review the site with you, agree the outputs you need, and choose the platform and method that fit — not the one we happen to own.

2. 02

   Capture

   Our operators deploy the USV, ROV, rover or drone with RTK positioning, working to our SHE Pre-Qual safety system. No divers, no confined-space entry.

3. 03

   Process

   Sonar, imagery and sensor data are processed in-house into depth maps, sediment volumes, cross-sections and 3D models.

4. 04

   Deliver

   Clear reports, GIS-ready data and, where it helps, an interactive 3D portal — with the confidence in every figure shown, not hidden.

Standards

Safety, quality & biosecurity

Robots take the risk out of the job — and we hold ourselves to the standards councils and utilities expect of any contractor on their sites.

Case study · Western Bay of Plenty District Council

Eleven stormwater ponds, Ōmokoroa

The council needed to know how much water and sediment its Ōmokoroa stormwater ponds and wetlands hold, to plan and prioritise maintenance. Between June and August 2026 MĀKI surveyed eleven of them, matching the method to each site: multibeam sonar, sonar boat surveys, and RTK staff shots where a pond was too shallow or overgrown for a boat.

Each pond was delivered as a survey report plus a private online portal: a 3D model of ground, water and sediment, with a cross-section tool the council's engineers can use themselves. Every pond also shows how much of it lies close to a real measurement — so they know how far to trust each figure.

See a 3D demo →

Case study · Buller District Council

Inside a drinking-water reservoir, Westport

Inspecting a drinking-water reservoir normally means taking it out of service: isolating it, draining it, gas-testing the air and sending someone into a confined space.

For Buller District Council, MĀKI inspected the reservoir in Westport with the water left in it. Our ROV surveyed the inside of the reservoir underwater, while our rover carried out the inspection on top of the reservoir — together giving the council a full visual record of the asset.

Buller District Council · Westport

Watch the inspection

Play video

Read more: Full case study · Reservoir inspection service

Case study · Auckland Council · Glasgow Contractors

Under the jetty at Hobsonville Point

With Glasgow Contractors, on behalf of Auckland Council's Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience department, MĀKI completed a detailed bathymetric and topographic survey at Hobsonville Point on a tight timeframe.

Our pilot drove MĀKI's in-house USV, fitted with multibeam sonar, underneath the jetty — a confined space that crewed survey boats struggle to reach. An RTK drone captured the exposed coastal structures and surrounding land, and the two datasets were combined into one integrated 3D model.

• Multibeam sonar USV
• Under-jetty surveying
• RTK drone photogrammetry
• Integrated 3D model

Auckland Council · Hobsonville Point

Watch the survey

Play video

Read more: Full case study · Bathymetry service

Case studies · Waikato Regional Council

26 lakes, and a safer way to sample blooms

Bathymetry of 26 lakes

High-resolution depth surveys across 26 Waikato lakes with autonomous boats carrying multibeam and single-beam sonar — supporting sediment analysis, habitat mapping and long-term lake management.

Case study →

Algae-bloom monitoring

During cyanobacteria blooms our autonomous boat measured six parameters, including phycocyanin, across whole lakes and collected samples at set depths by winch — with no staff on the water.

Case study →

Case studies · Ōtorohanga District Council

Harbour and settling ponds

Aotea Harbour topo-bathymetry

USV sonar below the water and drone photogrammetry above it, merged into one 3D dataset — including the geometry of the harbour's stone wall for engineering use.

Case study →

Settling-pond sediment volumes

Sediment scanning of settling ponds in Ōtorohanga town centre, giving the council sediment volumes and 3D models to plan maintenance before capacity runs out.

About settling-pond mapping →

Case study · Lake Ngaroto, Waipā

108 hectares in three days

A full bathymetric and side-scan sonar survey of Lake Ngaroto from MĀKI's autonomous inflatable e-kayak — producing a complete depth map, a 3D lake model and a side-scan mosaic of the lake floor.

Full case study →

More projects · Dutton Stormwater

Underwater stormwater inspection

Play video

Working alongside Dutton Stormwater, MĀKI used an ROV to inspect submerged stormwater infrastructure without anyone entering the water — recording footage for further assessment.

The same approach suits ponds, culverts, outlets and other submerged structures.

Research & collaboration

Field-proven, scientifically validated

We work with regional councils, universities and industry partners to develop and validate new technology for environmental monitoring and automation.

Through partnerships with organisations such as Waikato Regional Council and Auckland University of Technology, our engineering and software teams contribute to studies in autonomous sampling, IoT integration and AI-based sensing.

We welcome new research and development partnerships that combine scientific insight with engineering innovation.

News: MĀKI at Fieldays 2025 · Freshwater Conference 2025

Clients & partners

Who we work with