Hexagon achieves a masterstroke: new revenue streams with a new product in a new market

What makes this project so special? All of Zühlke´s engineering disciplines were involved – from discovery and system architecture to optics, mechanics, electronics, embedded and application software, cloud, data science, AI, UX, cybersecurity, as well as the development of production equipment and production support. Hexagon and Zühlke embarked on this journey as one joint team, from discovery and the first laboratory prototypes through to a successful market launch.

In theory, the idea behind Aura contradicts every rule of product development. Conventional wisdom suggests either developing a new product for a known market or taking an existing product into a new market.

Hexagon, the global market leader in digital reality technologies, had so far primarily combined sensors, software, and autonomous systems for industries such as manufacturing, infrastructure, or mobility. With the Aura project, the company pursued an innovative and at the same time highly unconventional idea: an ambitious vision of a solution capable of capturing a patient’s face and neck in photorealistic detail, enabling users to precisely analyse, track, and clearly communicate skin and structural changes.

Entering the field of aesthetic medicine was uncharted territory for Hexagon, technologically, regulatorily (particularly in terms of personal data protection), and culturally. The company therefore sought a partner who could contribute not only technological expertise, but also speed, agility, and entrepreneurial thinking. Our team was commissioned to support Hexagon’s vision and help transform this innovative idea into a mature, market-ready series product that would reshape the aesthetic industry.

Following an initial discovery phase centred on hands-on engineering and rapid feasibility studies, Hexagon and Zühlke jointly laid the foundation for the Aura 3D Imaging System. From the very beginning, a small interdisciplinary team built and iterated concrete hardware and software lab prototypes, using our extensive workshop, maker space, optics and electronics lab facilities to quickly validate key assumptions and reduce technical risk.

Targeted workshops complemented this work, serving to align direction and decisions with the latest insights gained from these physical prototypes. With a shared understanding and a joint team of experts from both companies, development then moved forward with the goal of creating a photorealistic digital twin of the face in a single capture, forming the visual basis for well-founded medical decisions and a shared visual language between doctors and patients.

The challenge was exceptional: a completely new product for a completely new market, a scenario traditionally regarded as particularly high-risk. The team had to deliver technological excellence while simultaneously creating a user experience that builds trust, inspires confidence, and proves itself in everyday clinical practice. In addition, the market demanded fast iterations, early user feedback, and continuous adaptation. 

The collaborative approach to overcoming these challenges was both strategic and iterative. Acknowledging the many unknowns involved in developing a product intended to set a new standard, and to manage this complexity, we assembled a cross-functional team encompassing almost all available disciplines. Optics, mechanics, electronics, embedded systems, FPGA, software, cloud, data science, AI, UX, and cybersecurity worked hand in hand.

Crucially, this winning team was guided by a decision-empowered project lead who took ownership of the journey and drove the project forward. Decisions, often amid uncertainty and risk, were made consciously, aligned with the shared vision, the current state of knowledge, and in close collaboration with the team. In parallel, a dedicated Product Manager, working closely with the market and customer-facing teams, ensured continuous proximity to real customer needs and market realities.

Hexagon and Zühlke deliberately did not act as client and service provider, but as a single Aura team. Over the course of the project, the Hexagon team worked directly from Zühlke’s premises, like a start-up in a shared, safe innovation environment where all disciplines, infrastructure and decision-makers came together in one place. This close collaboration, true to our ‘Empowering Ideas’ motto, enabled rapid decision-making, open discussions, and an exceptional level of mutual trust.

At the heart of the collaboration was a consistently agile build-measure-learn methodology. From the very beginning, the entire workflow, from image capture through analysis and data processing to user interaction, was made tangible in every functional model. Early prototypes were presented to key stakeholders and potential users in order to obtain immediate feedback on both functionality and user experience.

An emotional milestone was the first transportable version in its final camera configuration – affectionately known within the team as ‘Eva’. Technically demanding and sometimes temperamental, it brought the team closer to the eventual series product than ever before. With each iteration, the shared understanding sharpened – both technologically and in terms of user experience.

To train the AI models with robust data, the team travelled the world with ‘Eva’, including trips to Ghana and Singapore, to capture image data from a wide range of skin types. User experience always remained the top priority, even when this meant repeatedly questioning assumptions and rethinking solutions.

“One of my most vivid memories from the development at Zühlke is the preparation of our first prototype for the trips to Ghana and Singapore. I will always remember the enthusiasm and passion that everyone brought to make it possible: working tirelessly to have it ready, pushing through intense debugging sessions, sharing in the anticipation of updates from teammates in the field, and finally celebrating their return with the first captured data. It was a truly defining moment—this shared passion, combined with outstanding technical expertise, turned what once seemed impossible into reality”, Gemma Taverni summarises this experience. 

Regardless of contractual structures, one clear principle applied: everyone involved was part of the Aura team working at Zühlke’s office in Schlieren. Every two weeks, the team presented its results to the entire group, always accompanied by a culture of open and honest feedback. Internal doubts and resistance were not ignored, but addressed and overcome together. 

The defining moment of the partnership undoubtedly came with the product launch at AMWC Monaco. There, the team was able to reveal what had long been developed behind the scenes and created a real sensation.

With the Aura 3D Imaging System, Hexagon launched a solution that is unique across the market, setting a new standard for precision and patient engagement in aesthetic imaging. The agile, feedback-driven development approach significantly reduced time to market and ensured that the product was closely aligned with real user needs.

From a commercial perspective, Aura opened access for Hexagon to a growing market segment and created new, sustainable revenue streams. Hexagon’s technology is now recognised not only for its precision, but also for the added value it delivers to both practitioners and patients through establishing a shared visual language around treatment outcomes. At the same time, the foundation was laid for a long-term partnership, driven by a highly diverse, interdisciplinary team characterised by mutual respect, openness, and shared passion.

This project demonstrates clearly that digital transformation is far more than technology. It means redesigning organisations, ways of working and collaboration. For industrial leaders, the collaboration between Hexagon and Zühlke delivers a clear insight – those who want to enter new markets need integrated teams, user-centred development, and partners who take responsibility, from discovery through to successful market entry. The team model between Hexagon and Zühlke proved extremely valuable and laid the foundation for an ongoing, innovative partnership.

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