SIA New Member Profile: Hexagon Geosystems

New Security Industry Association (SIA) member Hexagon Geosystems provides a smart 3D surveillance system that detects physical changes in a space, immediately determines threats versus nonthreats with accuracy and reliability and notifies relevant personnel accordingly. Hexagon is a global company operating in over 50 countries, but its 3D surveillance organization is headquartered in Heerbrugg, Switzerland.

One of Hexagon’s flagship brands, Leica Geosystems, received the Best New Product honor for its 3D Surveillance With Leica BLK247 in SIA’s 2020 New Product Showcase (now known as the New Products and Solutions Awards) – SIA’s annual award program recognizing innovative security products in partnership with ISC West.    

SIA spoke with Carl-Thomas Schneider, vice president of business development at Hexagon Geosystems, about the company, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Carl-Thomas Schneider: Hexagon is a global leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions.  Our Geosystems division provides a comprehensive portfolio of digital solutions that capture, measure and visualize the physical world. Our entry into the security market was the result of combining innovative technologies from two of our flagship brands, TACTICAWARE and Leica Geosystems, to create Hexagon 3D Surveillance. 

Leica Geosystems is a global company supporting geospatial measurement professionals worldwide.  We are best known for our premium products and innovative solution development based on precise and accurate instruments, sophisticated software and services. We were honored and humbled when a group of 30 veteran security industry professionals voted the Leica BLK247 Smart 3D Surveillance System as the SIA NPS Awards’ Best New Product of 2020. TACTICAWARE is a provider of the LiDAR-based 3D surveillance software Accur8vision, which is used to monitor and protect critical infrastructure and buildings – from power plants and airports to commercial and residential buildings and more.  

What solutions/services does your business offer in the security industry? And what makes your offerings/company unique?

CS: We are unique in that we offer an integrated end-to-end 3D Surveillance (3DS) solution for system integrators to offer their clients. 3DS can detect, locate and track intruders in real-time using LiDAR technology which constantly measures and monitors the site. 3DS eliminates false alarms and can monitor the entire area of the protected site and not just the perimeter. Alarms are generated autonomously and reliably based on the size, location and movement of the intruder. Unlike 2D security cameras, LiDAR provides accurate situational awareness in any lighting condition. 3DS can add both intelligence and automation to existing security camera systems. Cost saving are realized through the automation of typically labor-intensive security procedures and reduced false alarms.

What is something we might not know about your company – or something new you are doing in security?

CS: The origins of Leica Geosystems date back over 200 years, with the founding of Kern & Co. in 1819. In Heerbrugg, Switzerland, 102 years later, Heinrich Wild developed the T2, the world’s first truly portable optomechanical theodolite which became a foundational building block of modern surveying.

What does SIA offer that is most important to you/your company? And what do you most hope to get out of your membership with SIA?

CS: While Hexagon Geosystems’ experience with LiDAR products goes back to 1998, we are new to the security industry. We hope and expect that our SIA membership will allow system integrators to find us so that they can grow their businesses, and ours.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.