Digital reality firm Hexagon has begun rolling out digital twins of whole cities, products that it says will improve the way city governments plan.
The models blend high-definition true orthophotos, obliques, digital terrain models, LiDAR point clouds, 3D building models, and land-use maps.
The program uses a hybrid urban mapping sensor, the Leica CityMapper-2, which concurrently collects LiDAR and aerial imagery.
Hexagon says creating digital twins of cities will help city administrations monitor critical assets, assess, and model risks, while also supporting the visualisation of new infrastructure projects for public communication.
Commenting on the initiative, John Welter, president of geospatial content solutions, said: “By creating a 3D digital twin of the world, the HxGN Content Program is supporting the global need for geospatial data that enables insightful, data-driven decisions.”
So far this year, Hexagon has created digital twins of Munich, Cologne, Vienna, Milan, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Tokyo, Dallas, New York, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt.
The company is set to roll out more digital twins next year.
Earlier this year, Hexagon acquired augmented reality specialist Immersal.
Image: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock
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