在数字过渡的最前沿

In this interview, Thomas Harring emphasizes that the geospatial industry should use the momentum of the ‘new normal’ to further accelerate the sector’s ongoing transformation towards more customer-centric and autonomous digital solutions. Harring started in his position as president of Hexagon Geosystems and CEO of Leica Geosystems in early 2020. The year took a sudden and very unexpected turn when the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works.

您将如何总结地理空间行业的当前状态？

尽管当前大流行造成了无可否认的后果，但地理空间行业并没有失去任何重要性，并且将继续以高于平均水平的速度增长。根据他们在现场和办公室中远程工作和劳动力保护方面的各种经验，许多组织将进行进攻，破坏旧过程和系统。尤其是政府可以通过开放其基础架构到数字解决方案并促进新的服务机会来发挥重要作用。这种情况使几个关键主题走到了最前沿，例如使用数字工具的实时办公/现场协作，频繁的远程进度监控以及对准确可靠的数字现实的需求增加。我相信，我们应该利用“新常规”的势头来加强我们正在进行的努力，以将地理空间行业转变为以客户为中心和自主数字解决方案。

Which new challenges and opportunities is the digital transformation creating for surveyors?

在地理空间行业中，数字化转型将加速实际和数字世界的融合，以为当前和未来的客户提供更多价值。地理空间行业正处于促进自动化的最前沿。诸如云，大数据分析，物联网（IoT），人工智能（AI），边缘计算和传感器融合等基础技术将在扩大数字化之外的数字化方面发挥积极作用自主提供快速，可靠和准确的决策支持。测量师和其他地理空间专业人员将通过配对领域专业知识和领先的技术将继续从数字现实能力中受益。

The number of acquisitions reveals a clear growth strategy. How would you describe Hexagon Geosystems’ ambition?

六边形的成长野心没有改变；我们正在通过创建客户价值的软件，传感器和基于服务的解决方案来扩展目标市场。我们通过平衡的有机和无机增长来增强竞争优势。我们的技术和解决方案路线图提供了一个框架，用于定义哪些技术和领域专业知识将使我们变得更强大。在GeoSystems部门中，我们最近收购了Geopraevent，这是一种警报和监视系统的解决方案提供商，用于保护关键基础设施免受自然危害的影响，该系统还使用了我们的领先软件和传感解决方案。最近的另一个例子是Tacticaware，这是基于激光雷达的3D监视软件的提供商，用于监视和保护关键的基础架构和建筑物。现在，我们可以将屡获殊荣的Leica BLK247提供，现在我们可以为客户提供综合的端到端安全监视解决方案。

测量设备制造业务是高度准确的（即与GDP波动密切相关）。您的公司如何处理？

As a global company, we are repeatedly exposed to gross domestic product fluctuations to varying degrees. To break or alleviate the cyclical dependency, we always do what made us strong in the past: we stimulate demand for productivity solutions with innovative software and sensing solutions, regardless of whether we sell them or provide them as a service. Our solutions make customers more productive and successful and thus give them transparent, visible payback. A current example is the Leica GS18 I GNSS-RTK-Rover, which with its visual positioning technology allows users to reach previously inaccessible or obstructed points, to check the quality of the data while on site and to extract points later in the office.

Suppliers often regard themselves as solution providers, but many surveyors adopt a ‘mix and match’ approach and select independent software to process sensor data. What is your view on this?

There have been discussions in the geospatial industry regarding open, closed and selectively open architecture related to sensor-data processing software for many years and these discussions are intensifying. Our belief is unchanged that customers want to have choices and decide based on their needs. However, there is no guarantee that a multi-vendor solution will integrate seamlessly or perform optimally. Of course, the task of the whole geospatial industry is to educate customers about new possibilities. Therefore we continue to take independent software providers with us as far as possible on the shared journey into the future; we have worked successfully with many of them to integrate new scanning, photogrammetry or radar workflows in their offering as well as to use the edge computing possibilities of our sensing solutions with their software suites.

预计5G的演变将为测量行业带来许多新的机会。六角形如何响应5G的可用性？

I would say the evolution of 5G technology brings additional opportunities for the geospatial industry in two respects: the deployment of 5G networks needs geospatial solutions, and the use of the network offers unlimited possibilities for business expansion. 5G telecommunication infrastructure must be secure, reliable and interoperable to handle the volume of applications and services. Accurate and reliable geospatial data is essential for the correct positioning of the base stations supporting denser networks. And in terms of business expansion in the geospatial industry, the possibilities are obvious – the 5G technology works like glue to network the individual sensors, speeding up data transfers and reducing latency. This will boost the convergence of the real world with the digital realities and increase the customer value of solutions such as the HxDR platform and all of Hexagon’s other smart solutions that support autonomous decisions remotely and in real time.

GNSS技术是地理空间行业的关键。您预见到未来十年的GNSS技术和服务方面有哪些发展？

GNSS has become the leading positioning technology in numerous applications and the pace of technological advancement in the geospatial industry over the past 30 years has been impressive. Simply speaking, three different GNSS solutions have been introduced to date: the high-end RTK rovers, the handheld GIS data collectors and the machine control systems. Today, our handheld GIS data collectors have smart positioning technologies, such as with HxGN SmartNet included, providing professionals with accurate data and backup systems when connectivity issues occur. As positioning of objects in the real world is becoming increasingly important, the spread of GNSS solutions is also increasing. Regarding RTK rovers, we are proud to offer our customers leading innovative solutions such as the Leica GS 18 T – the world’s fastest and easiest-to-use GNSS RTK with true tilt compensation – and the recently released Leica GS 18 I with its leading visual positioning technology. And let’s not forget all the developments in our software offerings to support these exciting sensor fusion and edge computing capabilities. What’s next? Trust us, our teams are already working on it!

Combining airborne cameras and Lidar sensors is the new trend in airborne mapping. How will this development impact on how the environment is mapped from above？

因为我们推出了徕卡CityMapper几年ago – the world’s first hybrid airborne sensor providing both oblique and multispectral nadir imagery and Lidar data – the urban mapping and creation of 3D geospatial data for smart city applications has reached new levels. The advantages – such as reduced collection costs as two datasets are collected in one flight, reduced manual edits as fused data improves automatic modelling and many more benefits – support efficient updates of geospatial base layers for fast-changing urban environments. Last year we launched theLeica CityMapper 2而且 - 当与Leica Realcity Urban Mapping Solutions中的通用HXMAP工作流相结合时，客户从数字表面和高程模型以及有关植被，街道信息，建筑区域和土地使用的定性数据中受益。此外，他们还可以访问用于计划目的的GIS Ready建筑物的形式的3D信息，以及可视化的3D网格。映射变得越来越有效，为六边形的智能解决方案提供了可靠和新鲜的地理空间映射数据。

测量师在构建信息建模（BIM）的背景下的作用如何？

在数字世界中，以前单独存在的方法（例如GIS或BIM）越来越融合。随着AI功能有助于提供24/7全天候和网络的业务见解，数据分析变得越来越增强。日常工作是自动化的，如果正确编码，则发生了更少的错误。AEC之间的界限模糊（建筑，工程和建筑，编辑。) sector and the geospatial industries reinforce the need for surveying capabilities throughout the whole life cycle of infrastructure and buildings. The role of scanning and imaging technologies in accurate, reliable positioning and measuring as well as in planning and digitally simulating the real world is forcing all relevant professions to learn about the use of geospatial data. Surveyors have been, and will remain, critical for the adoption of geospatial technology in these life cycles.

Which other changes do you predict for the surveying profession over the coming years?

测绘学应用科学和专业discipline is often described as an integrated approach to the measurement, analysis, management and visualization of geospatial data. Companies operating in the world of geomatics are facing ongoing innovation challenges due to rapidly changing technologies, such as Lidar, the cloud, IoT, artificial intelligence and many others. IT expertise is becoming increasingly important, and – as I mentioned earlier – surveying and geomatics professionals will continue to benefit from their geospatial capabilities in pairing domain expertise and leading technologies. Clearly, we must continue the dialogue with academia all over the world to engage strongly with the education of the future geospatial professionals. Last year, we celebrated 200 years of geomatics in Switzerland, an anniversary which demonstrates the impact and the importance of surveying. We see lots of new opportunities for surveyors and hope to celebrate our combined rich history with them for many years to come.

Do you have a final message for the geospatial community?

地理空间行业的好处正变得越来越明显，而不是地理空间专家，这就是为什么我们对我们的期望正在迅速提高。六角形仍然完全致力于该行业，并将继续推动采用技术和以客户为中心的应用程序来实现自动连接解决方​​案。我们是地理空间爱好者，他们相信地理空间行业的未来，并渴望成为榜样，并以身作则并展示可以做什么。