Hexagon Geosystems Announces HxDR Smart Digital Reality Hub

Pascal Strupler, Product Manager, HxDR, Hexagon Geosystems spoke with GISCafe Voice about its recent product announcement, HxDR. HxDR is aiming to be Hexagon’s central smart digital reality data hub, a new cloud-based digital reality visualization platform that can import and visualize any type of reality capture data from airborne, ground, and mobile sensors. This data can be integrated together easily, according to Strupler.

Recently Hexagon acquired companies such as Technodigit, MyVR, Luciad and the most recently Melown Technologies that have facilitated this new HxDR technology, including AI, machine learning and advanced visualization technologies, in addition to professional airborne reality capture. The combination of multiple varieties of 3D datasets, including point clouds, drone scans, laser scans and 3D models can be used to create seamless visualizations of different parts of the world, down to a cityscape level. Users who want to use already created real-world replicas can use Hexagon’s subscription-based licensing system to access data that includes cities, towns and landscapes totaling more than 3.6 petabytes.

With HxDR customers can create their own Smart Digital Realities that can boost project efficiencies and costs savings, according to Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén.

Hexagon aims to make visualization so accessible with its feature of “drag and drop” reality capture files into a browser window, and provide a way to integrate disparate sources of data into the model. It is expected that HxDR will play a critical role in the formation of smart city and smart nation platforms. The new platform was demonstrated at CES earlier this year.

How easy is it to bring the reality capture into the HxDR?

It is very easy. Our goal is to reflect the BLK ease-of-use on the HxDR platform: Drag and drop your reality capture files into the browser window, wait for the file to be uploaded, and sit back while HxDR microservices mesh and texturize the data. For devices from the BLK family, we aim to support direct upload from the devices to the cloud.

What kinds of use cases do you foresee with this new platform?

Architects, engineers and contractors can use HxDR to access precise real-world spatial data for project design and to show their clients immersive 3D visualizations that can help drive decision-making.

Media and entertainment producers, like location scouts, can use HxDR as a real-world context for pre-visualization and to plan sets and shooting locations.

City planners and other officials that manage infrastructure can use HxDR to visualize current realities, future projects, and to develop smart city platforms.

Real estate professionals can visualize potential buildings in real-world locations, analyze their impact on surrounding structures and the community, or gather data about existing buildings and properties.

Will the automated meshing function assign attributes to the new information and if so, how will that be accomplished?

For attributes like material properties and such, no, it really does meshing and texturing (if sensor photos are available).

How does HxDR fit in with Hexagon’s other AEC offerings currently?

HxDR is aimed to be Hexagon’s central smart digital reality data hub. It will connect to Hexagon’s other AEC offerings to provide and consume data streams wherever it makes sense, or even implements the most important functionalities as additional microservices directly within HxDR.

What is the licensing model for HxDR?

HxDR is based on a SaaS (Software as a Service) model.

• Different monthly and yearly subscriptions will be available including different amounts of storage, user accounts and processing.
• A token system allows users to pay for additional processing above the accounts limit.
• Licensing 3D city catalog models to be used within the platform.

Further information about pricing will be communicated towards release.

What is the cost for the data that can be derived from Hexagon to be used in HxDR?

Pricing information will be communicated at release.

How does HxDR integrate with other softwares and data from outside sources?

The existing library of pre-scanned cities and locations could have even more uses, by promising accuracy that could exceed the “street view” type map visualizations currently available from Google, etc., saving costly site visits that are necessary for a variety of industries. It is not hard to envision that these city-scale digital twins could eventually be used for urban planning and development, and could also be used for planners to share proposed developments with the public.

Tags: cloud, geospatial, GIS, imagery, Infrastructure, intelligence, laser scanner, LiDAR, location, mapping, maps, mobile, mobile mapping, reality modeling, remote sensing, satellite imagery, situational intelligence, small sats, underground mapping

Categories: analytics, asset management, Big Data, citizen science, cloud, cloud network analytics, data, drones, field GIS, geocoding, geospatial, GIS, Google, government, handhelds, laser radar, lidar, location based sensor fusion, location based services, location intelligence, mapping, mobile, photogrammetry, remote sensing, satellite based tracking, satellite imagery, sensors, subsurface utilities, survey, transportation, UAS, UAV, UAVs, urban information models, utilities

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