Hexagon partners with Sony Semiconductor Solutions to enhance reality capture

Hexagon AB, the global leader in digital reality solutions combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies announced the partnership with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony), the global leader in image sensors, to further advance Hexagon’s industry-leading reality capture solutions, including the Leica BLK product family. Through this collaboration, Hexagon will integrate Sony’s advanced Time-of-Flight image sensor and software technologies to enhance the speed and accuracy of its reality capture solutions.

The collaboration between Hexagon and Sony will deliver a seamless data capture and processing workflow, reducing the time between capturing and delivering results. By combining Sony’s advanced processing software library with Hexagon’s reality capture capabilities, the companies will develop solutions that provide faster feedback in-field and more complete data capture competencies.

Already engaged in the first step of the partnership, Hexagon will integrate Sony’s capabilities into the development of the new Leica BLK2GO PULSE. The handheld reality capture device fuses Sony’s advanced Time-of-Flight technology and Hexagon’s proven GrandSLAM technology, thereby creating a rapid, simple and intuitive first-person scanning method to capture to capture only what you need, when you need it, from your point of view. The BLK2GO PULSE will be primarily used for short-range indoor applications with instant point cloud visualisation while you capture.

With its release planned in early 2024, the BLK2GO PULSE will add a new, unique and disruptive member to the BLK2GO product family. All BLK2GO solutions share the ability for immediate data access and interaction among project teams to provide effortless uploading to the cloud directly from the device, fostering smarter collaboration.

"Our goal is to advance innovation through industry-leading technology,” said Burkhard Boeckem, CTO, Hexagon. “Partnering with Sony Semiconductor Solutions allows us to set the pace and accelerate reality capture solutions to enable our customers to fuse the real world with real-time digital realities created from sensors to build smart digital twins with stunning precision.”

“Through the synchronisation of market-proven technologies led by Hexagon and Sony, in-field data capture and processing efforts will be reduced to allow even faster and more collaborative data sharing through Hexagon’s digital reality cloud platform HxDR, the cloud-native platform for geospatial solutions at any scale”, continued Burkhard Boeckem.

“Time-of-Flight technology is key to creating a future where autonomous solutions can streamline work processes and boost productivity,” said Eita Yanagisawa, Senior General Manager of System Solution Business Division, Sony Semiconductor Solutions. “Through collaboration with Hexagon, we are ensuring that the data capture is reliable and accurate. The potential this partnership creates is transformative in the area of reality capture solutions.”

For further information, please contact:
Tom Hull, Head of Investor Relations, Hexagon AB, +44 7442 678 437, ir@hexagon.com
Madlen Nicolaus, Chief Marketing Officer, Hexagon AB, media@hexagon.com