Emesent, a developer of SLAM-powered scanning platforms, unveiled the GX1 at Geo Week 2026, positioning the new system as a purpose-built reality capture tool for AEC and survey professionals. The GX1 builds upon Emesent's proven Hovermap technology, which has gained traction as a handheld scanner, backpack mount, drone-mounted system, and robotic vehicle platform. However, the company identified a critical gap in the market that the GX1 now fills.
Where Hovermap found its strongest footing in underground mining and GPS-denied environments, the GX1 takes aim at a different segment entirely: above-ground building surveys, topographic mapping, and civil infrastructure work where repeatable, validatable accuracy is a baseline expectation.
According to Dr. Stefan Hrabar, co-founder of Emesent, the GX1 addresses a key customer need: "Customers love the accuracy that we get from Hovermap and the versatility, but they want something that's less intrusive."
The GX1 integrates several critical features into one unified system, including integrated RTK GPS for outdoor confidence, built-in cameras for colorization and panoramic imaging, a survey control point workflow for indoor accuracy validation, and improved data quality and repeatability. Together, these components allow surveyors to close the loop on data quality in the field rather than discovering problems in post-processing.
The GX1 is specifically designed for reality capture professionals working on building surveys, topographic mapping, indoor and outdoor environments, and bridges and civil works. With RTK GPS providing confidence outdoors and a control point workflow for indoor spaces, surveyors can consistently achieve and validate the accuracy levels they require for that type of work.
"It's bridging the gap from a SLAM-based system towards a TLS," explains Hrabar. "We're not claiming to be replacing a traditional laser scanner, but it's getting closer, and you can now use SLAM for all types of environments."
For reality capture professionals who have been reluctant to rely on SLAM in workflows that require more critical accuracy, Emesent is hoping that the GX1's control point integration and RTK confidence layer may lay that hesitation to rest.
