We all know that augmented reality programs are on the rise, now it's up to the world of technology 3D scan. It is making impressive leaps both in quality as in new techniques and software that are incorporated every day.
From a professional perspective in the architecture, engineering or industrial design, the 3D point cloud scanning is already a Another tool in many offices.
The point cloud in 3D modeling represents the most advanced, fastest and most accurate option for the data collection, measurements, volume calculations and 3d models.
Before seeing the new App and its sensational results, as a small paragraph and to understand the concept of what is a 3D point cloud , we want to provide the following scheme (See more information on Wikipedia):
The two basic technologies in the field of measurement in 3D , as we see in the image, are the 3D laser scanner and the Digital photogrammetry . both have their advantages and disadvantages, more precise or less, but when the We move to the mobile… What is the end result? well levels of impressive precision.
Unfortunately, if we want accuracy in the scanning of 3D surfaces, the technological cost of laser measurement professional is still high; both in devices and in prices of the programs that handle cloud renderings of points. But, this is where the subject gets interesting.
Now, there are affordable options to “play” with the 3D point cloud scanner based on the LiDAR technology, simply with our mobile, easy to to use and very cheap.
If we combine LiDAR technology (Laser that allows to generate a 3D model), a good software, the Artificial Intelligence that we have learned in the sector of the architecture and a powerful iPhone mobile, we will have 3D point cloud renderings as the next…
We can do this with our mobile. And not just for him exterior in the style of digital laser topography, which It works very well. For the interior of houses, the results are equally astonishing.
This is where a new version of the App comes in Polycam – LiDAR 3D Scanner with AI that is revolutionizing the 3D scanner at a very low cost low, and, although the precision in centimeters is still "weak" From a professional perspective, the evolution over the years is forceful.
If we compare two captures with the same App Polycam among its versions and made with the mobile, left from four years ago and right, from a few years ago weeks, we have:
The new version of the Polycam app allows users to publish directly to Sketchfab (Community of professional in the field of 3D and Virtual Reality) where you can create virtual tours and much more.
An example of what we can do for scanning 3D interior spaces . A scan in about 4 minutes with new iPhone (Your camera uses LiDAR technology), and processed in ~100 seconds with the Polycam (We can see many examples with movements from Sketchfab):
The LiDAR sensor in new detection devices Apple allow you to quickly create color 3D scans of objects and spaces. The coloring engine of the app is optimized to generate high-quality color 3D scans in little time.
We can access to download the App Polycam – LiDAR 3D Scan from HERE. Important!!… To test it, first there is to pay for a month's Polycam Pro, which is $3.99, and remember that it only works with device with a sensor LiDAR (Come on, the new Apple products).
The screenshots of the 3D application are quite precise, being able to easily measure the distance between any two points.
According to the design company behind the app, the errors in measuring distances are a couple of centimeters (Remember that we saw a 3D scanner for architecture in a tablet, but in this case, we had to buy a dock to handle precision).
Professional users can export their scans in a variety of formats known in 3D rendering as OBJ, USDZ, GLTF, and STL, as well as a number of 3D point cloud formats such as PLY, XYZ and PTS , to allow easy import into a viewer or 3D model editor.
As we are here to test, secondly and this time free, we have 3d Scanner App that we can see from HERE (App Store) whose results are also quite amazing.
There are other apps like Trnio 3D Scanner, which plays with photogrammetric technology , but it is more for figures and objects in the field of industrial design. In Actually, it does not quite convince the users and… What What about 3D scanner apps for Android? Is there Anyone who can do something similar…
In reality, and unfortunately, at the moment there is very little. In this case we have to go to the Matterport company specialized in 3D captures for professionals where they have an application for both Android and IOS that you can see from HERE. We leave you the presentation video:
Matterport is dedicated to the professional sector (Architecture, engineering, real estate, etc) and we will have to make the relevant payment if we want to make the most of the capabilities of your App.
There is also some 3D scanning app for objects and people like the Qlone or the PIX4Dcatch 3D app scanner that is one of the best.
Both are 3D scanning software for mobile all in one. They allow to scan in 3D and produce a 3D model only with the smartphone. Subsequently, the model can be exported to various 3D formats and sent for its 3D printing. Although for the architecture sector, they fall short.
Remember that we already talked about some app to measure distances from this item. measurement technology and Mobile rendering is constantly changing and sure that soon we will see new advances that will facilitate us our daily work.
