Huntsville, Alabama, USA, 2 April 2026 - Octave today announced the launch of Alto 2026.0, a milestone upgrade to its platform for building advanced location intelligence and real-time situational awareness applications. As geopolitical tensions rise, Alto 2026.0 delivers visualization capabilities for defense agencies to map cyber threats and incidents and easily share the information across teams.
Defense and intelligence agencies worldwide rely on Alto (formerly Luciad) to build mission‑specific geospatial systems for command and control, mission planning, intelligence analysis, multi‑domain situational awareness and advanced real-time visualization capabilities, such as identifying and tracking drones.
Alto 2026.0 now enables users to visualize cyber-related incidents and operational areas directly within the map environment by expanding support for military symbology with cyber-domain elements. This enhancement allows even lightweight or legacy applications to access mission-ready cyber map layers, making critical information easier to share across teams and systems.
As a geospatial software development kit (SDK), Alto powers visualization capabilities and real-time operations across many critical industries, including maritime. The new version introduces full support for the global S-101 maritime chart standard, a next-generation WebGPU graphics engine and expanded cyber domain mapping capabilities.
Countries worldwide are preparing to transition from older chart formats to S-101, which provides sharper detail, greater consistency and a more modern foundation for navigation and situational awareness. With Alto 2026.0, users can view, publish and interact with the new charts seamlessly. This end-to-end readiness places Octave among the first geospatial technology providers to deliver full portfolio S-101 compatibility.
The release also marks Octave’s move into the next era of high-performance graphics through the adoption of WebGPU, an emerging standard supported by modern browsers and operating systems. By shifting to WebGPU, Alto 2026.0 establishes a long-term foundation for more responsive visualization, richer data interactions and future innovations in 3D mapping.
“Alto 2026.0 is another leap forward for our customers,” said Dirk Wagemans, vice president of geospatial for Octave. “From defense and maritime modernization to the next generation of rendering technology, this release reflects our commitment to delivering geospatial tools that help organizations work smarter and prepare for what’s next.”
Octave Alto 2026.0 includes updates for Octave Alto Lightspeed (formerly LuciadLightspeed), Alto Server (formerly LuciadFusion), Alto Universal (formerly LuciadCPillar) and Alto Browser (formerly LuciadRIA).
The new release is among the first innovations announced by Octave, the potential software spinoff from Hexagon AB.
Octave is the unified brand comprised of the Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial and Asset Lifecycle Intelligence divisions of Hexagon, as well as the Bricsys, ETQ and Projectmates businesses. As a dedicated software and SaaS enterprise, Octave will specialize in advanced data analytics and AI-driven solutions, empowering smarter, quicker decisions for industrial and public sectors. Its comprehensive portfolio will support customers in designing, building, operating and protecting assets of any size, transforming complexity into clarity and intelligence into advantage.
Octave technologies support more than 100 governments worldwide.
To learn more about Octave Alto, please visit the Octave website.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Emily Arnold, Executive Manager, Global Communications, Octave, +1 256.730.2582, [email protected]
Octave provides mission-critical software that empowers organizations to make informed decisions across every stage of the asset lifecycle — Design, Build, Operate and Protect — where performance, safety and reliability are non-negotiable and failure is not an option.
Turning complex operational data into actionable intelligence, Octave connects expertise, real-world conditions and enterprise-scale insight to improve performance, resilience and incident response where it matters most.
Octave has more than 7,200 employees in 45 countries. Learn more at octave.com and follow us on LinkedIn.