Bentley Systems, Incorporated, a company specializing in infrastructure engineering software, has announced its acquisition of Cesium, a 3D geospatial firm.
Cesium is known as the foundational open platform for developing robust 3D geospatial applications, and its 3D Tiles open standard has gained widespread acceptance among top enterprises, governments, and numerous application developers worldwide.
The company’s SaaS platform, Cesium ion, delivers 3D geospatial experiences to over 1 million active devices each month, while its open-source products have achieved more than 10 million downloads.
Bentley’s iTwin Platform supports digital twin solutions utilized by engineering and construction companies, as well as owner-operators, to design, construct, and manage the world’s infrastructure.
The integration of Cesium with iTwin allows developers to effortlessly align 3D geospatial data with engineering, subsurface, IoT, reality, and enterprise information to produce digital twins that offer remarkable user experiences, scaling from extensive infrastructure networks to millimeter-precise details of individual assets—viewable from land, air, sea, outer space, and deep underground.
Nicholas Cumins, Bentley’s CEO, stated, “A 3D geospatial perspective is the most intuitive method for owner-operators and engineering service providers to search, query, and visualize data about infrastructure networks and assets. With the combined strengths of Cesium and iTwin, infrastructure professionals can make more informed decisions in a complete 3D geospatial context—all within a single, highly efficient environment.”
Patrick Cozzi, CEO of Cesium, added, “Joining Bentley signifies a crucial milestone for Cesium as we advance our mission to develop the premier developer platform for both the built and natural environments—based on open standards and open-source technologies. The combined capabilities of our two organizations, along with our mutual dedication to openness, will create new growth opportunities and enhance value for an already thriving developer ecosystem, ranging from small startups to large enterprises.”
An example of this collaboration is Komatsu, the largest construction equipment manufacturer in Japan and the second largest globally, which utilizes Cesium’s 3D geospatial technology to monitor construction sites around the world, track changes over time, compare architectural designs with real-world data, and conduct precise, near real-time measurements.
With the integration of Cesium into Bentley, Komatsu gains enhanced access to leading digital twin technology.
Chikashi Shike, executive officer of the Smart Construction Promotion Division at Komatsu Ltd., remarked, “Komatsu and Cesium introduced innovative concepts to the construction sector by utilizing advanced visualizations to provide more accurate insights, enabling our clients to make better-informed construction decisions. With Cesium as part of Bentley, we can further enhance our Smart Construction digital twins with engineering models, subsurface data, and more, leading to safer and more efficient construction projects.”
In addition to its platform’s widespread adoption, Cesium is a frontrunner in advocating for open standards, such as 3D Tiles for visualizing extensive 3D geospatial data, which was recognized as a community standard by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) in 2019.
Peter Rabley, CEO of OGC, stated, “As infrastructure sectors become increasingly data-driven, the significance of an open ecosystem will only grow. As the leading advocate for open standards and interoperability in the geospatial community, OGC welcomes Bentley and Cesium’s ongoing commitment to addressing global challenges through open, interoperable platforms.”
Following the acquisition, Cozzi has been appointed Bentley’s chief platform officer, overseeing the development of the integrated Cesium and iTwin platform offerings, reporting to Bentley’s CTO Julien Moutte.
Source :Bentley Systems
