Luciad is an international supplier of

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

(GIS) tools. They provide products intended for. geospatial situational awareness. The company mainly focuses on the

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

, defense and

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

markets, Defence customers account for about 70% of its business. In addition to its headquarters in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

(Belgium), Luciad has offices in the US,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, as well as other territories. It works with organizations such as

Eurocontrol The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eur ...

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...

. Since 2008, Luciad technology has been used in supporting SACT's objectives of improving the interoperability between NATO and national

C4I Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

systems and has been contracted by the NATO C3 Agency to deliver the software components for the visualization capability in its interim Joint Common Operational Picture. In 2016, Luciad announced a partnership with Sc2 Corp and IBM to develop social media analytics for US Special Operations Command. Luciad has also participated with

Frontex The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex (from French: ''Frontières extérieures'' for "external borders"), is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, exercising in coordination with the borde ...

, the European Organisation for Security (EOS) and the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) on border security and border control Luciad is one of several

spin-offs Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of the

KU Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

History

After he obtained his doctorate at the KU Leuven in 1991, Dr. Lode Missiaen worked as a senior scientist at the NATO C3 Agency in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he was responsible for the study, development, and application of modern software technologies in the field of Air Traffic Control and Airspace Management. With his colleague Thierry Salvant, they founded Luciad on March 22, 1999, together with management company R2I (acted as business angels). Gemma Frisius Fund (GFF), a seed capital fund established in 1997 as a joint venture between the KU Leuven, KBC and

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...

, provided further seed capital in September 2000. Missiaen served as Group CEO from 1999 to 2012. Investment company Gimv acquired a majority stake in Luciad in 2013. In October 2017, Gimv and the other shareholders sold their stake in Luciad to the Swedish-headquartered

Hexagon In geometry, a hexagon (from Ancient Greek, Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple polygon, simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexa ...

to strengthen their ability to deliver smart digital realities. This made Luciad a fully owned subsidiary of Hexagon which now operates under its Geospatial division.

Awards

Luciad won the 2016 Geospatial World Innovation Award for LuciadRIA, its 3D situational awareness app for browsers.

Luciad User Conference

Luciad hosts an annual User Conference for geospatial professionals and developers in Europe, with over 200 geospatial professionals from the Aviation, Defense, Maritime, Safety & Security and Utilities & Logistics domains. It is hosted in Brussels.

References

{{Reflist, 30em GIS companies Belgian brands Companies based in Leuven Catholic University of Leuven KU Leuven Military industry University spin-offs Software companies established in 1999 Technology companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in Belgium