I’ve been using my Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and it’s built in LiDAR to scan some ancient old growth trees up to 1000 years old. Preserving the trees digitally in 3D point clouds & meshes and I will talk more about that amazing adventure I had on holiday last week. I’ve also been capturing objects and measuring things such as my retaining wall construction in the yard and outdoor fireplace work. I have been using the apps 3D Scanner App & SiteScape AI.
This is really interesting, innovative, and something that I hope will get more precision over time giving us accurate LiDAR in our hands to capture and measure the world around for many valuable use cases from construction, AR, navigation, preservation, 3D model creation, estimation, and so much more. While it doesn't replace my commercial LiDAR units that cost over $50,000, and are bulky to carry around, this is 5mm resolution LiDAR in my pocket on my phone. There is an opportunity for some smart developer or startup to develop a LiDAR 3D scanner that overscans multiple passes to increase the accuracy of the capture points and mesh or build an even better precision hybrid photogrammetry + LiDAR point mesh and texturing solution.
-Shaan
