Hexagon’s Leica BLK2FLY named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2022

The BLK2FLY, recognised for its productivity and innovation, is the world’s first fully integrated autonomous flying laser scanner. It’s part of Hexagon’s BLK suite of autonomous reality capture sensors known for their speed, portability, ease-of-use and mobility.

To compile the list, TIME solicited nominations from TIME’s editors and correspondents around the world, and through an online application process, paying special attention to growing fields – such as the electric vehicle industry, green energy, and the metaverse. TIME then evaluated each contender on a number of key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.

“Having our reality capture technology recognised by TIME as one of the year’s best inventions is both humbling and inspiring. It validates our mission to build Smart Digital Realities™ that empower an autonomous, sustainable future,” says Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén. “Our technologies aim to change the world for the better, turning concepts that were once thought impossible into real solutions that benefit everyone. By optimising quality, productivity, efficiency and safety – profitably – we can help industry achieve sustainability through mitigated risk, less waste and reduced cost.”

As a LiDAR-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the BLK2FLY addresses costly and complex issues, quickly and accurately capturing everything from large outdoor spaces to complex structures and environments. For example, when renovating building structures, it can easily capture exterior dimensions of previously inaccessible or difficult-to-reach areas such as rooftops and facades. The resulting colourised 3D point clouds are instrumental in building information modeling (BIM) processes, documenting site conditions and improving any asset’s operation – from infrastructure to utilities to industrial facilities.

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