Surround surveillance: Hexagon AB adds another dimension with Tacticaware deal

Hexagon AB, a provider of sensor, software and autonomous transportation solutions, announced the acquisition of Tacticaware, a provider of LiDAR-based 3D surveillance software. Tacticaware developed its software for monitoring critical infrastructure such as powerplants and airports as well as commercial and residential buildings.

The terms of the deal were not announced. The company has 15 employees, according to results from a LinkedIn search. Hexagon said that Tacticaware will be operating within Hexagon’s Geosystems division and will have no significant impact on Hexagon’s earnings.

Tacticaware, based in Prague, Czech Republic, developed its Accur8vision as a volumetric detection security system, meaning objects are measured and tracked in three dimensions rather than as two-dimensional objects. The company claims that its software offers better awareness of the exact location, size, speed and movement of objects.

Hexagon, based in Sweden, recently introduced a 3D surveillance product, the Leica BLK247, which combines LiDAR, video, and thermal imaging with edge computing.

According to the company, “LiDAR-based 3D surveillance solutions offer three-dimensional, volumetric threat detection independent of environmental and lighting conditions, reducing false alarms and enabling faster reaction to incidents.”

Analysis: Hexagon adds manageability

While Hexagon already has algorithms for the BLK247 and other products to detect and report physical changes within an environment, Tacticaware brings additional capabilities for volumetric detection and system management capabilities that are crucial to making surveillance systems useful in large scale deployments.

For example, surveilled areas can be displayed as a 3D digital landscape, allowing users to determine different security policies for different object locations. In an airport or industrial plant, for example, the user might predefine alert areas for humans on the ground and drones in airspace around structures.

In terms of current demand for biometric identification systems, it would make sense for Hexagon to leverage the edge compute capabilities of its systems to also offer mask detection, but 3D imaging means there’s also an ability to define zones for additional actions such as temperature monitoring and provide security alerts if personnel bypass monitoring systems.

Hexagon’s acquisition comes as research firm Frost & Sullivan issued a research report suggesting that developments in technologies such as LiDAR, 3D camera, acoustic, and radar sensors are finding more application in Smart City deployments. Where homes and buildings were the initial scenarios for sensor technologies, the research firm suggests that larger scale adoption is occurring outside of the traditional use cases with environmental, gas, flow and grid sensors.

Article Topics

3D  |  acquisitions  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  edge computing  |  smart cities  |  surveillance  |  thermal imaging