L3Harris has worked with our customers over the years to determine the best imagery and data and create solutions for a myriad of projects. In doing so, L3Harris has developed a long and valued partnership with Hexagon’s Geosystems division. Hexagon is well known for their HxGN Content Program which provides highly detailed imagery covering nearly every square inch of the Continental US, Hawaii, much of Europe and many metropolitan areas in Canada.

Hexagon has started collecting large amounts of 15cm imagery to refresh several US states. Utilizing their imagery collections capability, Hexagon has recently branched out with some powerful new offerings within the US and European markets.

Hexagon has been gathering stereo pair imagery for much of their coverage area at high resolution over the past few years. Utilizing stereo pair data is the best way to create 3D data from aerial imagery. This is an exceptionally powerful asset for planimetric and elevation data projects in the United States and in Europe. This data provides multiple views of a target to deliver greater depth and capability of a project site where mono 2D views can be enhanced with the 3D data.

Example of Hexagon stereo pair imagery used to create 3D Data.

From this stereo pair data, Digital Surface Models, or DSMs, as well as accurate 3D Building models can be created. These 3D data sets used alone or in tandem with high-resolution imagery of the same date and location can deliver an accurate and attractive portrayal of a project area. A 3D visualization that accompanies high-resolution imagery enables a myriad of projects such as construction planning, mining and forestry inventories, telecommunication and line of sight projects, and utilities and airport mapping.

Oblique view of Hexagon DSM data combined with aerial imagery, Houston, TX.

Los Angeles Harbor: Counting shipping containers can be easily automated with this type of imagery

L3Harris is currently working to perfect the process of creating bare-earth Digital Terrain Model, or DTM, from the Hexagon stereo data. Creation of a DTM involves digitally stripping away the vegetation, structures, and any other features to deliver the model of the bare ground surfaces of an area. This type of data allows for hydrological and civil engineering mapping, accurate construction planning, as well as accurate topographical mapping.

The Hexagon imagery is also ideally suited for machine learning. The detail and consistency of the data make it a very reliable source for large scale analytic projects involving land use mapping and feature extraction. The imagery is suitable for extracting tanks, well pads, roads, railroads, water, solar panels, vegetation, buildings, vehicles, and any other photo-identifiable assets. Once a machine learning algorithm is developed to identify a feature on a suitable test area, it can be accurately replicated across an entire data set.

Another exciting development from Hexagon is the planned release of 15cm resolution data covering nearly the entire US. It is scheduled to be released state-by-state as it is completed over the next three years. During 2020, over 3 million square kilometers of imagery are planned to be updated. This level of detail at this scale will be welcome to many industries across the United States and will facilitate remote projects at a level not yet seen without a custom data collection.

While not all of these new data options are available yet (as of July 2020) on our L3Harris IntelliEarth platform, we provide these highly detailed options to our users each time the Hexagon project is a match for the data need. Just submit your area and needs and we will ensure you get the best possible options for your project. The L3Harris Geospatial Data Team can be reached at GeospatialData@L3Harris.com.

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 21,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of 3.9bn EUR.

Overview map of current and forthcoming Hexagon imagery coverage.