Navigating complexity, driving innovation and creating positive change with "Design that Leads".
Brisbane, Australia October 8, 2026 ― Today, Emesent, an autonomous mapping and robotics company, is pleased to announce that the newest edition to its product line of best-in-class mobile scanners has received one of the highest honors in product design. Emesent GX1, an all-in-one SLAM LiDAR, RTK and 360° imagery scanner, has been recognized in the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, Australia’s longest-running international design awards, for excellence in design, innovation and impact.
This year’s Awards are presented under the theme Design that Leads - celebrating the critical role of design in navigating complexity, driving innovation and creating positive change.
At a time of unprecedented social, environmental and technological change, this year’s theme recognizes that good design is more than an outcome, it is a powerful way of thinking, imagining and acting. It challenges us to question what is, envision what could be and design better products, services, places and systems for people and planet.
Among this year’s Award Winners is Emesent GX1, an all-in-one SLAM LiDAR, RTK and 360° imagery scanner, which received a prestigious 2026 Australian Good Design Award Best in Class in the Product Design Commercial and Industrial category.
Project Details:
Project: Emesent GX1, an All-in-One SLAM LiDAR, RTK and 360° Imagery Scanner
Designed in: Australia
Designed by: Katapult Design
Commissioned by: Emesent
Jury Comments:
“The Jury recognizes Emesent GX1 as an outstanding field instrument that closes a fundamental gap in the survey industry by combining 5–10mm globally validated accuracy with mobile scanning speed in a single integrated system.
The vertical one-piece aluminium architecture demonstrates exceptional design intelligence, simultaneously solving structural rigidity, thermal management, LiDAR protection and RTK performance.
The Jury was blown away by the product's ability to reduce field survey time by up to 95%, enabling work that once took weeks to be completed in a single day, a game-changing achievement with substantial benefits for surveyors, clients and the broader construction industry.
The four deployment modes, 360° camera layout and tool-free quick-release reflect deep understanding of real surveyor workflows, whilst the exemplary Industrial Design shows outstanding balance, quality of finish and sophisticated detailing that sets a new benchmark for this fast-growing technology.”
“We couldn’t be more ecstatic for the Emesent GX1 to be awarded the 2026 Australian Good Design Award of Best in Class in the Product Design in the Commercial and Industrial category. Our team spent tireless hours perfecting the GX1, so it would not only achieve high operational standards, but also be a tool that makes the lives of surveyors and their organizations that much easier,” said Dr. Stefan Hrabar, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of Emesent.
Emesent accepts this award on the heels of the Emesent Hovermap ST being awarded gold in the ‘Product Design – Commercial and Industrial’ category of the 2022 Australian Good Design Awards. The Emesent Hovermap ST is an award-winning, AI-powered SLAM LiDAR mapping and autonomy payload designed for harsh, GPS-denied environments, and was the forerunner to the commercially successful Hovermap STX.
The 2026 Australian Good Design Awards Ceremony takes place on Friday 9 October at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney, bringing together more than 1,000 guests from across design, architecture, engineering, business, government and the wider creative industries.
The Ceremony will celebrate the very best in contemporary design and reveal the recipients of the Good Design Award Best in Discipline, Special Accolades, the Good Design Award for Sustainability, and the Australian Good Design Award of the Year – the nation’s highest design honor.
Good Design Australia Managing Director Rachel Wye said the range of projects recognized in 2026 reflected the role design now plays across the economy and community:
“Design is an important economic and social capability. It influences the products we create, the services we rely on, the policies we develop and the way organizations respond to complex problems,” Ms Wye said.
“This year’s Award winners are addressing energy costs, healthcare, environmental degradation, artificial intelligence, disaster preparedness, accessibility and community wellbeing.
“Australia has an extraordinary design community and an opportunity to use that capability to strengthen our economy, improve lives and build industries that can compete internationally.”
Setting the Global Benchmark for Design Excellence
The Australian Good Design Awards recognize excellence from around the world across 13 overarching design disciplines and more than 30 categories, encompassing Built Environment, Communication Design, Concept Design, Digital Design, Design Research, Design Strategy, Engineering Design, Fashion and Textiles, Next Gen, Policy Design, Product Design, Service Design and Social Impact.
Every project is evaluated by an independent Jury of more than 100 Australian and international design experts against three core criteria: Good Design, Design Innovation and Design Impact.
Established in 1958, the Australian Good Design Awards are Australia’s longest-running international design awards and one of the world’s most respected design recognition programs.
For almost seven decades, the Awards have championed the transformative power of design and celebrated the designers, businesses and organisations using design to create a better future.
ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN GOOD DESIGN AWARDS
Established in 1958 under the auspices of the Industrial Design Council of Australia, the Australian Good Design Awards are Australia’s longest-running international design awards program and have recognized excellence in design and innovation for more than six decades.
The Awards span 13 overarching design disciplines and more than 30 categories, encompassing Built Environment, Communication Design, Concept Design, Digital Design, Design Research, Design Strategy, Engineering Design, Fashion and Textiles, Next Gen, Policy Design, Product Design, Service Design and Social Impact.
ABOUT GOOD DESIGN AUSTRALIA
Good Design Australia is an international design promotion organization responsible for managing the annual Australian Good Design Awards and other design programs, events and initiatives.
Its history dates to the establishment of the Industrial Design Council of Australia in 1958, which was funded by the Commonwealth Government and based on the UK Design Council model. Good Design Australia promotes the importance and value of design to business, industry, government and the broader community.
As a Certified B Corp in the design industry, Good Design Australia is counted among businesses that are leading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. To learn more, visit good-design.org.
ABOUT EMESENT
Emesent, a global leader in autonomous mapping technology, provides innovative 3D data capture, processing and visualization solutions for industries across architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC), defense, geospatial, mining, oil and gas, public safety, and beyond.
Rooted in the mission to help clients “map the unknown”, its two core products, Emesent Hovermap and Emesent GX1, are powered by cutting-edge simultaneous localization and mapping technology (SLAM), enabling organizations to capture accurate 3D LiDAR data quickly, efficiently, and safely in challenging and time-sensitive environments.
Established in 2018, Emesent was founded by two leading researchers out of Australia's prestigious Robotics and Autonomous Systems arm of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).