Hexagon, a major player in reality technology, today presented a data-rich digital twin of the Qutub Shahi Tombs to the government of Telangana. This digital twin of the 16th-century heritage site is a proof-of-concept of Hexagon's Reality Technology for Smart Cities capabilities.   

During a ceremony, Paolo Guglielmini, president and CEO of Hexagon, presented the data-rich digital twin of the historical site to the Principal Secretary of I&C and IT Departments, Jayesh Ranjan. The event was attended by dignitaries from the departments of IT, Industries and Commerce, Urban Development, and Culture and Heritage.  

Hexagon combined advanced software and hardware technologies, such as 3D scanning and geospatial mapping, to produce a digital representation of a landmark, generating 10.7 billion data points. They utilised devices like the Leica BLK2FLY drone with LiDAR scanner, BLK2GO, and RTC 360, capable of capturing 2 million points per second. The GS18i aided in geo-referencing the point cloud. 

Paolo Guglielmini, president and CEO, Hexagon commented “The creation of this digital twin of the iconic Qutub Shahi Tombs is a step towards our vision of digitally safeguarding cultural heritage sites across the globe.” 

In the final stage, Hexagon’s digital-reality platform HxDR applied advanced AI solutions to stitch together a point-cloud mesh and data-rich actionable digital twin. The new digital version of the historic site enables data-driven decision-making, real-time analytics, visualisations, and simulations. 

IT Minister D Sridhar Babu, Govt. of Telangana said “We are delighted that Hexagon India R&D, based in our very own city and being the largest R&D centre of the company, has developed a data-rich digital twin of the Qutub Shahi tombs. I am confident that using smart technologies to preserve, maintain, and restore our rich heritage is the right way forward for a smart city."   

Commenting on the initiative, Navaneet Mishra, senior vice president and head of Hexagon R&D India, said, "The Qutub Shahi Tombs Digital Twin project is a fully functional proof-of-concept of Hexagon’s Digital Heritage for Smart Cities, demonstrating how we can help preserve the rich heritage of our country. The data-richness of Hexagon’s digital reality will make it easy for governments, planners, and conservationists of smart cities to make data-driven decisions. We are excited to have developed this for Telangana and look forward to more such possibilities across India.”  

Hexagon stands as a key player in digital reality solutions, seamlessly integrating sensors, software, and autonomous technologies.