Hexagon: Inspire 2026.1 opens point clouds up to 50% faster

Nathan Brooks

Hexagon says the latest Inspire 2026.1 opens large point-cloud files up to 50% faster and reduces their storage requirement by up to 50%.

The announcement gives no benchmark workstation, file sizes, datasets or comparison baseline, and “up to” does not establish typical performance. These are vendor-supplied figures, not independently verified shop-floor results.

What changes in the point-cloud workflow?

Hexagon's Portable Metrology Division calls 2026.1 the first Inspire release of 2026. The company says its unified point-cloud architecture preserves raw scan data and keeps it recoverable after every edit.

Operators can toggle, reorder or remove edits at any time without changing the original measurement, giving a traceable route from inspection results back to acquired coordinates. Hexagon positions that traceability as a check on the origin and consistency of measurement data.

The release also consolidates routine inspection for portable probes and 3D scanners in one interface, serving shop-floor manufacturing and quality teams. Hexagon says the interface guides measurement, alignment and comparison with CAD regardless of device, reducing application switching and the expertise needed to move from scan to verified result. Its intelligent memory management is intended to keep interaction responsive even on the largest datasets.

Zach Rogers, Product Manager for Inspire at Hexagon, said: “This release is about giving quality teams a foundation they can trust and then making them faster on top of it.”

What does the ATS800 integration add?

Inspire now supports the Leica Absolute Tracker ATS800 for targetless measurement of parts and features at distances up to 40 metres. Hexagon describes the capability as high-accuracy and says the integration brings targetless scanning into Inspire for the first time.

Region, Line and Feature scans operate in the same workflow, while circle and slot selections feed the Measure Perimeters tool. That integration keeps ATS800 work in Inspire instead of requiring a separate application.

Hexagon describes the results as high-accuracy, but the announcement gives no numerical positional uncertainty, point-cloud accuracy or measurement conditions for the 40-metre limit. Buyers therefore have no stated error budget against which to compare the tracker configuration.

A simplified overview camera, or OVC, process replaces several legacy scan profiles with one profile. Hexagon says that change lowers setup complexity and exposes the tracker's large-part measurement capability within Inspire, without requiring operators to learn a separate workflow.

How does automation change inspection?

The new Remeasure Out of Tolerance action automatically walks operators through features that fail inspection criteria. It clears each failed feature, remeasures it and rechecks it before continuing. Configurable retry passes are intended to produce consistent, repeatable results.

Hexagon also streamlined perimeter construction, vector-comparison displays and cloud-from-mesh creation. The changes reduce manual steps in setting up and reviewing an inspection, complementing the stated goal of moving from raw scan to verified result within the production workflow.

Rogers said: “Together with the Remeasure Out of Tolerance action, this is a release that lets our customers build 3D metrology directly into their manufacturing processes, not just perform it alongside them.”

Which design and scripting tools are included?

Expanded Python scripting gives users control over inspection criteria, including GD&T annotations, duplicate-feature creation and cardinal-point construction, which Hexagon says can improve productivity through automation. Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing defines allowable geometry and tolerances on a part; putting annotation creation under script control supports repeatable inspection automation. The retained raw cloud leaves acquired coordinates available if an edited feature needs review.

Updated CAD compatibility covers AutoCAD 2026, Revit 2026, SolidWorks 2026, NX 2512, Parasolid 38 and ACIS 2025. Hexagon includes these capabilities with every Inspire licence, allowing direct use of the latest design data without translation. The software also runs on a modernised platform that Hexagon says is faster and more secure while preserving existing workflows.

Who should adopt Inspire 2026.1?

Existing users can obtain Inspire 2026.1 now through Universal Updater. It is most relevant to shops already using Inspire where large scans, portable probing and CAD-based checks form routine production work.

The adoption question is whether each shop can reproduce the 50% claims on its own files and hardware, define repeatable Remeasure Out of Tolerance passes, and demonstrate that Python-generated inspections meet its GD&T requirements.