AEC TECH NEWS: Hexagon acquires SigmaSpace Corporation

Hexagon AB, a global provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications, announced the acquisition of SigmaSpace Corporation, a provider of next-generation technologies used to rapidly deliver high-quality 3D maps of the Earth.

Today, accurate and geo-referenced 3D visualisations have become an absolute necessity in real-world situations due to the insight they can provide — from urban planning and emergency services to aviation safety and disaster response. SigmaSpace has been enabling private and government clients, including NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, respond to the growing need for this kind of data.

Headquartered near Washington, D.C. with approximately 110 employees, SigmaSpace offers a unique LiDAR technology – Single Photon LiDAR (SPL) – which enables 3D data collection at much higher speeds and resolution than conventional systems. This technology operates in night and day conditions and is able to penetrate semi-porous targets such as vegetation, tree canopies, ground fog, and clouds. Together with its speed of coverage, these features make it a superior choice for a wide range of industry applications and a prime candidate for the U.S. Geological Survey’s 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), which is intended to create a comprehensive 3D map of the US.

“The capabilities offered by SigmaSpace nicely complement our current technologies and will positively impact our Imagery Programme – which makes quality geospatial imagery, captured with our airborne sensors, available through the cloud,” says Ola Rollén, Hexagon President and CEO. “Additionally, the need for photorealistic 3D visualisations of the world around us is here to stay, especially in light of the of semi- and fully-autonomous vehicle era.”