A measurement tells you where something is. Sometimes you also want to show what it looks like. That is what 3D LiDAR scanning in UNI-Collect adds: next to points, lines and polygons, you capture a 3D scan of the situation and attach it to the survey object it belongs to.
How LiDAR scanning works in UNI-Collect
UNI-Collect uses the LiDAR sensor in Apple devices (iOS 16 or newer). Apple builds that sensor into the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models and into the iPad Pro, so check your device before you plan on scanning; a standard iPhone does not have one. You measure your object as usual, start a scan, move the device around the subject, and the scan is stored with the object, the same way a photo attachment works. Photos and scans travel with the measurement to UNI-Cloud, where markers show what is attached where. On the Ultimate plan the scans open in the shared viewer, so the office can look at them without leaving the browser.
The point of attaching scans to objects, rather than collecting loose scans, is context. The scan does not float somewhere in a folder; it hangs on the measured object, with the RTK position and the attributes that describe it.
Where it earns its keep
- An open trench with a complex crossing of cables and pipes: the measurement records the positions, the scan records the situation, and a discussion three months later is settled by looking instead of remembering.
- As-built documentation of an object that is about to be buried, covered or demolished.
- Damage and condition recording, where a 3D impression says more than four photos.
A concrete example
A crew uncovers an unexpected bundle of cables while installing a new house connection. The field worker measures the bundle’s position, scans the open trench, and closes it. When the network operator asks what exactly was found, the answer is not a description over the phone: it is a 3D scan, attached to a centimetre-accurate position, viewable in the browser.
Tarife
3D LiDAR scanning is part of the Ultimate plan, which is also where the shared viewer sits. See the UNI-Cloud-Preisseite for what each plan includes.
Receiver, app, cloud environment and RTK corrections come as one package: das UNI-Collect-Umfragepaket. Questions about LiDAR scanning in your workflow? Contact us.