Connected Construction

Hexagon completes North West Geomatics acquisition

June 11, 2014

Hexagon, a leading global provider of design, measurement and visualisation technologies to a wide number of industries, including road construction and mining, has acquired the remaining 90% of shares in North West Geomatics, making the company a fully owned Hexagon subsidiary. North West Geomatics, also known as North West Group (North West), provides high-quality aerial mapping and related spatial data services to engineering and mapping firms, environmental consulting organisations and government agen

HxGN Live 2014: Hexagon CEO lays out firm’s machine control vision

June 5, 2014

Hexagon CEO and president Ola Rollén has outlined the company and its global brand network’s vision for the future of mining and construction machine control. Speaking during a Hexagon media luncheon Q&A during the four-day HxGN Live 2014 conference being staged at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Rollén emphasised the strength of Hexagon’s Mining Division which currently consists of Leica Geosystems surveying equipment; SAFEmine mine safety and collision avoidance systems; Devex and Leica Geosystems Minin

HxGN Live 2014: Leica CEO highlights IT-led road construction and mining gains

June 4, 2014

Leica Geosystems’ CEO and president Jürgen Dold has highlighted to HxGN 2014 Live delegates how dynamic geospatial systems are creating more effective and safer workflows on road construction sites and in mining.

New industry developments push boundaries of machine control

May 22, 2014

A series of innovations in machine control or automation technologies are helping transform the construction industry - Mike Woof writes Equipment manufacturer have made huge advances in machine performance, delivering new models that offer increased capabilities and productivity, while using less fuel. Reliability and uptime too have been improved, with the development of equipment that can forestall unplanned downtime by telling the user when it will require service attention. Meanwhile new engines delive

Topcon’s SIRIUS PRO is new mapping essential

May 19, 2014

Topcon Positioning Group has launched in Europe the Topcon SIRIUS PRO powered by MAVinci, an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) designed to produce the most accurate solutions for automated mapping of construction sites, pipelines, disaster areas, mines, quarries and myriad sites without regard to terrain.

Swept path software house Simtra bought by Transoft

May 16, 2014

Further changes in the vehicle swept path software seem to have been triggered by last year's purchase of the UK's Savoy Computing by Autodesk and subsequent incorporation of its swept path and roundabout design tools into Autodesk's own portfolio. They are now sold as the standalone program Vehicle Tracking 2014. Transoft Solutions, the Canadian-based company has now purchased the Swedish swept path software producer Simtra which only just released a new version of its PathPlanner program. Transoft itse

California traffic management system using simulation has successful trial

May 16, 2014

A complex online modelling system for integrating traffic management on the southern Californian road system has successfully completed a major operational trial this spring The "decision support system" uses the collection of data about the local interstate I-15 and many of the roads which feed into it or lead away from it, to build a comprehensive picture of traffic flows, working with a variety of city agencies, federal highway administration and services such as police and crash data. Data from e

Construction software giant Autodesk continues to acquire new capabilities and products

May 16, 2014

Even before its annual spring upgrade announcements, covering all the major software from AutoCAD to Civil 3D, the giant Autodesk has been releasing a stream of changes. Some of these cover recent acquisitions such as the French Graitec software for detailing and design of concrete and steel structures, now through its legal processes, and the Bestech acquisition. In both cases the software is re-released under an Autodesk brand to ensure continuity for users "and with a price reduction," said Autodesk c

MOBA expanding by increasing its holding in Novatron

April 25, 2014

German equipment technology specialist MOBA is increasing its stake in the Finnish firm Novatron. MOBA Mobile Automation has acquired an additional 24% stake in the Finish excavator system manufacturer Novatron and now holds a 49% total share of the business. ”The steady market growth in Scandinavia, the successful cooperation during the last three years and a close cooperation with OEM customers“, explained David Shelstad, MOBA’s vice president, as the main reasons for MOBA’s decision to intensify the part

Topcon launches “Technology Roadshow” for advanced machine automation systems

April 10, 2014

What’s the best way to get technology to the end-user? Topcon believes it has the answer with the 2014 edition of the Topcon Technology Roadshow, previewed for industry editors this week in Livermore, Calif.