LiDAR Advancements at Intergeo 2025: A New Perspective

Martin Weider, a young geospatial entrepreneur, based out of Sofia Bulgaria, shares his impressions of Intergeo 2025 — from the industry figures who have inspired his journey to the cutting-edge lidar and SLAM technologies he discovered at the event.

When I started learning how to build a drone business, I came across some truly impressive people — Dylan Gorman, Michael Gula, Thomas Barnas, Rami Tamimi, and many more. When researching them on LinkedIn, I noticed something they all had in common: they gather at Intergeo every year.

I wanted to be part of that community — and this year, I was.

I landed in Frankfurt and two pretzels in hand, headed to Messe Frankfurt, the enormous conference venue. It looked larger than the airport itself — a massive complex with attached hotels and halls covering a huge area.

I began with a long, careful stroll around the exhibition halls to familiarize myself with the layout and mark the booths I wanted to revisit.

At the Wingtra stand, I met Nemanja, who greeted me warmly. He explained that the new Wingtra UAV systems could map entire cities in just a few hours — for example, Zurich was mapped in only 3–4 hours using their drone. The scale and speed of modern mapping are truly redefining the industry.

The first day wasn’t packed with meetings; I wanted to walk around, observe, and absorb impressions. Seeing so many professionals in the same field, all driven by the same mission, was inspiring.

One thing that stood out was the sheer number of new SLAM scanners — every company had one. Technologies like Matterport and even Leica felt old-school compared to the latest scanners capable of collecting millions of point clouds in seconds. You can now scan large historical buildings in minutes just by walking around with a handheld SLAM device.

I met Yannick Führer from TINAMO, who introduced their new flagship scanner — a hybrid that can be handheld or mounted on my DJI Matrice 4E. It’s perfect for volume management, such as calculating stockpiles in factories or construction sites.

Of course, I also visited DJI Enterprise, the undisputed king of drones.

One of the most special moments for me was meeting Philipp Matschoss from F7 Digital. I had seen him many times before in DJI’s official videos introducing the DJI Matrice 4E. In fact, he was the reason I decided to buy that drone in the summer of 2025. Meeting Philipp in person was surreal — like meeting a character from a film you’ve watched over and over.

I also saw Michal Gula and Thomas Barnas, the founders of 3DISE. In my opinion, Michael is probably the most influential LinkedIn figure in the geospatial world — constantly sharing 3D models and industry insights. Michael and Thomas were recording a podcast for several hours, so I only saw them briefly and didn’t have the chance to talk. That’s something I’ll save for Intergeo Munich 2026.

After each long day at the conference, I explored Frankfurt’s city center. One evening, I went to the Main Tower, a 300-meter skyscraper with an observation deck. The elevator shot up in seconds, and suddenly I was above the city. The view was incredible — a complete network of roads, infrastructure, and architecture stretched beneath me. I always catch myself thinking: How would I map this? What permissions would I need? What workflow would I use?

Throughout the event, I was struck by the presence of Chinese companies – their pace of innovation is unbelievable. One standout was XGRIDS, which showcased their Lixel L2 PRO — a SLAM scanner that truly impressed me. Collecting point clouds with the Lixel L2 PRO will fundamentally change everyone’s workflow.

The Lixel L2 PRO is a powerful example of how far handheld mapping has come. Its precision, portability, and speed open new opportunities for architectural and industrial documentation. I want to combine this workflow with Gaussian splats — a relatively new technology for me, but one that’s proving to be an incredibly powerful tool for visualization and interpretation.

I also talked to Julian from Emlid, whose new GNSS solutions left a strong impression — especially the Reach RS4 Pro. The brand-new tool will be used for site stakeout, topographic surveys, cut/fill, as-built verification, infrastructure, drone integration, and more.

Another fascinating presentation I attended was given by Fabian Briese, a German professional who shared his experience mapping vast rainforests in Borneo, Indonesia, using the DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral. His project focused on forest management and environmental monitoring. His storytelling was captivating — and his mission showed the true global impact of drone technology.

When I finally got back home, I immediately marked Intergeo Munich 2026 in my calendar and started connecting with everyone I’d met on LinkedIn. The event might end, but the friendships, collaborations, and opportunities it creates live on — and grow stronger each year.

Connections like these are what keep our industry alive.