I recently interviewed Ola Rollen, CEO and president of Hexagon AB, about his group’s upcoming Hexagon 2011 conference, and his vision for what the integration of the holdings can become. There is an impressive combination of technologies under the Hexagon umbrella, including Leica Geosystems (surveying and lidar instruments), ERDAS (imagery processing and serving), Novatel (GNSS), Z/I (aerial digital cameras), and Intergraph (GeoMedia GIS platform with Process, Power & Marine and Security, Government & Intelligence solutions) as well as highly precise measurement for manufacturing. The upcoming event will serve as a great showcase of some of the possible combinations of these technologies, and Rollen provided some nice nuggets about the future that he foresees.
V1: You’ve indicated that you’d like to see more platform development work at Intergraph. Is there a concerted effort to develop more capabilities with GeoMedia?
Rollen: That is happening as we speak, but I also think that the very traditional GIS as we know it is becoming more and more obsolete. It’s not just about presenting geospatial information. You need to present it accurately for sure, even in the future, but it’s more about providing a platform to monitor action and events. I think that’s the niche where we all have to move.
V1: We’ve talked before about a movement to a more robotic world. Are there other areas of greater automation that interest you?
Rollen: I definitely think that UAVs will be an integral part of our technical solution for the future. We are conducting tests using UAVs to capture various data. We are also looking at various machine control solutions where you use our technology to drive machinery. This could be in agriculture, mining or construction. There are all sorts of efficiencies to be gained by using robotic automation solutions to gain efficiencies.
V1: The pace of technological change seems so fast these days, particularly from a software developer’s perspective where there is a mix of desktop, mobile and cloud-based implementation to consider. Do you have to focus on all devices?
Rollen: Part of the future will always be a desktop, because people like workplaces. At one time they advocated that all people would work from home, but really how fun would that be, to never meet your colleagues, and always sit at home. I think that you do need social interaction between colleagues, and a lot of good ideas are created when you do that, and that would talk in favor of a desktop.
I think the division between devices is becoming increasingly blurred. Your device is mobile at times, and a desktop at times, and you bring it with you. Ten years ago, what did you do with your mobile phone? Maybe you had an address book and your phone. Now with a smartphone you have your calendar, you have Internet, you have a camera, you can do so many things today. I think that is where we need to move. Whether it is stationary or mobile doesn’t matter, it’s the functionality that you’re after.
You can read the full interview here in V1 Magazine.
