Hexagon, the global leader in measurement technologies, today launched MANTIS by Leica Geosystems, a camera-mounted 3D capture and tracking system to give filmmakers greater creative freedom by recording spatial information during filming. The system captures scene geometry and camera movement together as the camera rolls, creating a spatial record aligned with the footage for use in visual effects (VFX) workflows.

A cinema camera captures the image, but much of the 3D information behind that image is left behind on set. Separate set scans and camera-tracking systems can preserve some of it, but VFX teams may still need to reconstruct missing depth, geometry, and camera position after filming wraps. That work adds extensive time and enormous complexity to ambitious shots and makes some ideas impractical to pursue.

“Today’s audiences are more demanding than ever before, so productions now routinely combine live-action sets with virtual environments and visual effects. This makes accurate on-set metadata increasingly valuable,” said Chris Richter, President of Hexagon’s Media & Entertainment Venture. “MANTIS records spatial data frame by frame on set, which enriches the images captured. This significantly reduces the steps required to composite live-action footage with CGI. We are excited to bring this product to the industry and help creatives on set and in post-production to improve workflows and to focus on making extraordinary content.”

MANTIS and MANTIS Studio capture and turn the data recorded on set into LiDAR-corrected depth maps, position data, point clouds, and camera tracks aligned with the footage. The outputs can be incorporated into established VFX workflows, using standard formats including EXR, FBX, and Alembic. By preserving more of the spatial information artists need, MANTIS is designed to reduce the estimation work required for compositing and the manual work for matchmove. MANTIS is the first-of-its-kind spatial recording and processing system for media and entertainment.

“We’ve been working with the film industry for many years to help capture set data for better post-production flows,” said Burkhard Boeckem, Chief Technology Officer, Hexagon. “The instruments we had available could capture a full scan of the scene, but there is always room to do more. Almost every production today passes through tools that work in three dimensions, so we asked ourselves, why not include perfectly synced spatial data alongside the image? Using our expertise in measurement technology and spatial intelligence, we developed MANTIS to do just that.”

Hexagon will demonstrate MANTIS during Infinity Festival on 12 – 15 November.

MANTIS will begin shipping in Q1 2027.

Read more and view shot on MANTIS examples at mantis.leica-geosystems.com.

About Hexagon:

Hexagon is the global leader in measurement technologies. Our precision measurement, positioning, and autonomous solutions transform the world’s most vital industries. From aerospace & defence, automotive, construction, general manufacturing, to mining and more, we provide the confidence that customers rely on to build, navigate, and innovate.

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 17,500 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 3.7bn EUR.

Learn more at hexagon.com.

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