Re-embracing the geospatial discipline

In recent years, Topcon appeared to focus primarily on the construction and infrastructure industry – a domain in which the company’s equipment and solutions are essential for measuring, automating and digitalizing the built environment. But now, the firm is re-embracing the discipline that underpins it all: geomatics. Topcon marked its return to the geospatial arena by exhibiting at Intergeo in October 2025. This provided the perfect opportunity for GIM International to speak with Ivan Di Federico who, after two decades with the company, stepped into the role of CEO relatively recently. He is a man with a clear vision who is keen to make Topcon’s presence felt again in the geospatial sector – which has grown far beyond the traditional realm of surveying into a much broader field of spatial intelligence and data-driven reality capture.

Topcon has now set up a dedicated business unit for geomatics. Should we view this as a renewed commitment to the geospatial industry?

“Absolutely, and not only that. Our dedicated business unit shows that we place our customers and the entire mass data capture segment right at the centre of our attention. Last year, we did not participate directly at Intergeo, although some of our recently acquired companies had booths. We ourselves had little new to showcase at that moment because we were working towards what is on display at our booth this year: a substantial portfolio of innovations, available on the market as of November. That was our main focus.”

Di Federico explains that they used to refer to this business area as ‘geo’, reflecting its roots in the traditional surveying world, but that’s now only a small portion of what the geospatial field has become. He sees today’s geomatics as being centred on mass data capture, reconstructing reality, creating digital twins, enabling smart cities and smart infrastructure, and connecting these rich datasets with building information modelling (BIM) technologies in construction  – an area where Topcon sees strong synergy.

“Everything from under the ground to the sky needs to be part of a continuously updated, unified real-world map, a reference that enables modern and future machinery to operate with confidence and precision, fully under control. Precision is at the core of what we do. As our slogan says, Topcon is there 'since precision exists', and we have more than 90 years of history in this domain. We remain committed to advancing that legacy in an increasingly complex and fully digital reality-capture environment. And our presence at Intergeo this year is a statement of our commitment and the large set of investments we have made over the past few years to get to the point where we have the entire product range needed to be market leader in this particular sandbox.”

Which opportunities do you see emerging from the decision to establish a new geomatics business unit, and how will it strengthen Topcon’s contribution to the geospatial profession?

“The single-word answer to your question is: focus. We have a very strong market presence and a strong tradition in technology for construction, including collaboration with mainstream OEMs. But being so successful in one market sometimes makes it difficult to perceive the power of other markets, especially in the ever-expanding geospatial industry, which extends to utilities, infrastructure, digital twins and so on. We now have dedicated people to look at these particular markets all day long. And this brings focus. Therefore, we are transforming what was called ‘geo’ into ‘geomatics’ and giving it a single leadership and a clear identity inside the company: its own P&L and its own way of governance and controls which are much more adapted to the market conditions. This enables the internal organization to make the right decisions and also the right investments that are required to be market leader.”

“This will further strengthen the Topcon brand. Being part of a family of unified software that essentially covers the files generated by all the different kinds of geomatics instruments is really the key to making life easier for our customers and enabling them to extract the most value out of their time for profitability. Our customers have already shown large appreciation for this.”

The role of geomatics is shifting from traditional surveying towards data integration and actionable insights. How is Topcon supporting professionals in adapting to this broader, more data-driven future?

“This really goes to the heart of what we are focused on. Every application, every design and every data capture project requires the right tool for the job. The range of tools available today is much wider than ever before. We have moved far beyond a world defined only by robotic total stations or digital levelling instruments. There is now a broad spectrum of instruments suited to very specific tasks, and our commitment is to ensure that customers have access to the best possible options with the highest standards of precision and accuracy.”

“When you transform reality into numbers – the process we call ‘digitalization’ – you can easily generate a lot of noise or low-quality data. That immediately impacts everything that follows, whether visualization in software, feature extraction such as identifying corners or edges, or AI-driven recognition in dense point clouds. If the data is not clean and precise from the start, the entire workflow suffers.”

Di Federico argues that having a single cloud environment where all instruments share their data is equally crucial. Without such a unified system, he points out, firms are forced to spend excessive time and money integrating information from multiple cloud platforms – paying for extra licences, paying again to transfer datasets, and wasting numerous hours on simply moving files around. “Before analysis can even begin, valuable time is spent cleaning and consolidating data that should have been usable from the moment it was collected. That is why we not only focus on precision at the source, but also on a unified workflow through one cloud and one modem system. We call this the ‘golden initiative’, and for the past two years we have concentrated on bringing everything together so that no matter which instrument gathers the data, it enters a seamless workflow.”

“Here at Intergeo, you can already see how this comes together in the new set of well-structured tools that streamline data into our existing platforms – such as Collage – for publishing, visualization and measurements in 3D. At the same time, the data is fully prepared for use in the major industry platforms from our key partners, Esri and Autodesk, who are central to our journey into a fully digital 3D world. The destination is clear: clean, precise data from the start, unified in a single ecosystem, and ready to be used immediately in the applications that drive our industry forward. That is where we are today – and exactly where we are going.”

(The article continues after the photo)

With increasing demand for accurate and reliable positioning across many sectors, how does Topcon plan to balance investment in new innovations such as AI, data fusion and autonomous survey systems with supporting its existing hardware and services portfolio?

“Firstly, I’d like to point out that Topcon has more than 400 OEM customers, including companies on the Fortune 500 list, and our commitment to long-term support remains unchanged. We guarantee at least ten years of availability for parts, repairs and service – whether through our hotline, our dealers or factory support. This is essential to our business, which continues to be large and demanding, so a dedicated portion of our investments is focused on maintaining that level of reliability.”

“At the same time, the ongoing digital transformation – sometimes orderly, sometimes quite frantic – must be monitored closely, and we must position ourselves strongly within it. That is why we have a separate investment stream entirely devoted to developing new instruments, and especially the software that powers them.”

The CEO explains that the definition of software has expanded far beyond what it once was, and that this is reshaping the geospatial sector: “In the past, ‘software’ simply meant the firmware inside the instrument or an office application used after the data was extracted. Today, when we say software, we are referring to multiple layers. The first layer is still the firmware on the instrument itself, but it has evolved dramatically thanks to far more powerful processors. These allow us to perform sophisticated graphical analysis directly onboard – shifting many tasks that once required office software into the instrument itself.”

“Then comes the connectivity layer: firmware and systems that manage direct data transfer over the internet to a single cloud environment. Once the data reaches the cloud, it becomes available for the next steps: analysis, decision-making and moving the project forward, whether that involves vertical construction, horizontal infrastructure, underground utilities, or even tunnel work, which we are introducing here at Intergeo.”

From there, he continues, cloud-based software works hand-in-hand with advanced office software, and everything is complemented by mobile applications. “Every product and every workflow connects to apps that travel with the user – providing access to information even when they leave the job site or the office. Mastering these four connected environments – inside the instrument, within the cloud, on office systems, and on mobile devices – is exactly where we are investing our resources. And we are very proud of what has been achieved. Here at Intergeo, that commitment is on full display: of the nine new products we are introducing, three are entirely new software platforms that demonstrate how far we have come on this digital path.”

Artificial intelligence has made its entry into the geospatial sector and is already changing the industry. How has Topcon incorporated AI and machine learning into its surveying and geospatial solutions, and where do you see the biggest opportunities to build on this momentum?

“Investment in AI represents one of the largest areas in our budget in recent years, not only for geomatics but also for construction. The reason is clear: we are one of the few companies that can truly leverage the power of a very large dataset, built over many years, across job sites worldwide, and enriched by the data coming directly from our instruments.”

“We were the first, back in 2012/2013, to launch a technology that integrated a modem into every robotic total station: Topcon Shield. Those instruments were constantly connected to a single cloud, which means we have collected years and years of insights into utilization, positioning and how customers operate our solutions, wherever they are in the world. The same is true for our machine control systems and for agriculture, where connectivity has been standard practice for an even longer time. This gives us an exceptionally rich real-world dataset, which is exactly what AI needs in order to learn.”

“AI already plays a key role in the software you see on the market. Automatic tagging, object recognition and feature extraction – think of EdgeWise or Verity – rely on extremely advanced AI-powered analysis of point cloud data. These are not future concepts. They are commercially available and performing in the field today.”

According to Di Federico, what is coming next is even more exciting. He leans in as he describes a future in which humans interact with machines as naturally as they interact with one another. “Imagine simply talking to an excavator and receiving an intelligent response. We are developing exactly that. These systems will have true ‘agency’ – deep knowledge gained from machine learning applied to authentic, not simulated, datasets. Once trained, that intelligence can be embedded directly at the edge – inside the instrument, inside the vehicle – while remaining connected to the cloud so it continues to learn from other machines and instruments in operation. As we move forward, AI will become a real partner: supporting you while you operate equipment, manage a project or control a vehicle, and helping ensure that the result is consistently more precise and more efficient.”

Being an early adopter of new technologies can be a growth driver, but also carries risks for survey firms. How can a manufacturer like Topcon help customers navigate those risks while still pushing the boundaries of innovation?

“I really want to thank you for this question, because it addresses one of the most critical yet least discussed topics in our industry. We see it as our role to provide the right data, in a single cloud environment, with the best tools available – both our own and those from leading partners – to help our customers achieve the results they need. Now that every instrument is connected – one modem, one cloud – firmware is constantly updated over the airwaves. This means there is a real chance that one day, within the next few months, a user will press the start button on the job site and their instrument’s interface will look different or new features will have appeared. And that is part of the value we provide. Users are entering a recurring service ecosystem, similar to how smartphones are updated. These updates are an integral part of the product’s lifecycle.”

“The product you buy is not the same product you work with three or four years later – and we guarantee that evolution. But it’s true that this evolution also brings a challenge. You no longer need to look for innovation; it comes to you – but when it arrives, your first reaction is often frustration. The interface is new. The workflow changes. It feels unfamiliar. There are very good reasons for these improvements, but there is not always time on the job to understand them.”

“That’s why we ask for a commitment to training, ideally twice a year, at one of our professional centres. These centres exist across the world. We have numerous facilities in Japan, North America and Europe, and most recently we opened a new one in Malaysia to serve Southeast Asia. Each is dedicated to ensuring that you remain proficient and efficient in using both instruments and software to deliver excellence to your customers.” In Europe, for example, the company operates a 55-hectare facility in Italy – located between Bologna and Modena – with seven buildings and three dedicated test sites. There, Topcon hosts dealers, construction professionals and geomatics customers for training in collaboration with universities.

Continuous learning, Di Federico emphasizes, is essential. “Training must be part of the product experience, ensuring our customers stay connected to the latest knowledge. We schedule sessions strategically throughout the year – often during seasonal slowdowns – so that our communities in agriculture, construction and geomatics can participate. At that single location alone, we deliver more than 60 training events per year, typically four days each, with 40 to 50 participants. These sessions focus on the instruments they already own, because the firmware has evolved, and the software they already use, because new features have been added. They also introduce new workflows that take advantage of these capabilities. If firmware has been updated, it is because there is now a faster, more efficient way to do the same job. Knowing how to use it unlocks the productivity.”

So what is Di Federico’s key message to the market? “The evolution happens in the cloud, it happens inside the instrument, and it happens in the training that supports you. We are committed to keeping this triangle active, and always moving forward.”

Surveyors have always been guardians of integrity in mapping, but industry professionals are now being asked to evolve from data managers into geospatial information managers. How do you see this transformation reshaping the very identity of the surveyor?

“Surveyors are indispensable. We cannot operate without their specific skills, knowledge and professional integrity. So I would not say that the identity of the surveyor needs to be reinvented. On the contrary: their role is more essential than ever!”

Di Federico warns against the growing misconception that technology alone can replace the surveyor. “You can find videos online where someone scans a site with a smartphone and suddenly believes they are producing trustworthy survey data. That is a dangerous assumption. It creates the illusion that anyone can be a surveyor, and that precision no longer matters. History reminds us what happens when boundaries and measurements are not trusted. A couple of centuries ago, disputes over property lines could lead to duels. We do not want to return to a world where inaccurate data causes conflict, inefficiency or costly mistakes.”

“Surveying is grounded in rigorous understanding… of RTK, of millimetre-level accuracy, of geometry and geodesy. That level of precision must not be compromised. If we become complacent and accept ten or 20-centimetre errors as ‘good enough’, we go backwards. We undo decades, even centuries, of technological evolution.”

“So yes, the tools are evolving. And yes, surveyors are increasingly managing geospatial information rather than just data. But the foundation of the profession remains unchanged: trusted measurements! Use the right instruments and the right software, and work with partners who respect and support the value of professional surveying. That’s how the identity of the surveyor not only survives, but grows in importance.”

About Ivan Di Federico

Ivan Di Federico serves as president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems, positions he assumed in September 2024 following a distinguished career with the company that began in the 2000s. In his current role, he is keen on creating and embracing disruptive technologies to keep the business on a steady path towards future growth. He also leads key initiatives focused on strategic business alliances and acquisitions. Di Federico holds a BSc in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Pisa, Italy, and an MBA from The Open University.