Hexagon has acquired Xwatch Safety Solutions, a company specialising in construction site safety technologies, to bolster its construction safety portfolio.
Headquartered in Sweden, Hexagon specialises in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software, and autonomous technologies.
Xwatch offers machine control hardware and software, including height control, slew control, and rated capacity indication, designed to increase safety around heavy machinery at construction sites.
These systems allow operators to limit an excavator's height and set side boundaries to define a working zone.
Hexagon president and CEO Paolo Guglielmini said: “Safety is an increasing focus for our construction customers. Technologies like Xwatch’s solutions are already mandatory in public contracts within the UK, and we see this trend extending further in future.
“The team at Xwatch have developed an impressive array of OEM [original equipment manufacturer] agnostic solutions which address a real customer need and fit seamlessly into our digital construction product portfolio. I am excited to have them join us at Hexagon.”
Previously, Xwatch had collaborated with Hexagon’s Geosystems division to develop the 3D Avoidance Zone system, a component of Hexagon's digital construction products.
With 17 employees based in the UK, Xwatch will be fully consolidated into Hexagon starting this month.
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has also formed a partnership with Microsoft.
This collaboration is set to redefine how engineers work together and will enable the discrete manufacturing industry to innovate more rapidly and confidently.
The partnership will provide solutions that combine virtual engineering data with real-world measurements of manufactured products, facilitated by cloud infrastructure.
These solutions will be part of Hexagon’s Nexus digital reality platform for manufacturers.
It will leverage Microsoft 365 to help employees enhance their productivity through cloud-accelerated simulation and AI.
