List of 3D Scanner Tools
There are a number of tools and technologies to choose from to capture 3D scans of reality. We’ve tried to share our experiences here when scanning Objects and Rooms.
LiDAR
LiDAR or “light/laser detection and ranging” is a method for determining ranges to an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. This can be powerful when combined with visual light from a camera to capture RGB-D images.
| App Name | Quality / 10 | Time to Use | Difficulty / 10 | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polycam | 3/10, gives good idea of room but very choppy | 5 min | 0/10 | Can only do 360 picture, can’t do room scan without lidar sensor (needs iphone 12 pro/promax) |
| Scaniverse | 4/10 not great, depends on room but gives good idea of size | 8 min | 0/10 | Can do room scan & objects. Scaniverse room scan write up. |
| 3D Scanner App | Obj:7/10, Room: 4/10 | Obj: 15 min, Room: 5 min | 0/10 | Works best with small/medium sized objects, not rooms. There is a home scan mode that only works indoors, should be better with lidar sensor. The small object is difficult to export out of app |
| KIRI Engine | 0/10 | Has free & paid version, requires phone with lidar sensor | ||
| Matterport | Matterport room scan write up. |
NeRF
NeRF or “neural radiance field” is an AI-based method of building a 3D model from 2D images.
| App Name | Quality / 10 | Time to Use | Difficulty / 10 | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3Dpresso | 0/10 | Film video and it turns it into 3d model, doesn’t do rooms | ||
| Luma AI | 2/10 | 40 min | 0/10 | |
| Nerfstudio | 8/10, can capture 360 of outdoors pretty well but not super clear | 8/10, based on description | ||
| Volinga | Have to create account, has licenses |
Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is the process of recording models through photography and other electromagnetic radiant data.
| App Name | Quality / 10 | Time to Use | Difficulty / 10 | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AliceVision (Meshroom) | 7/10, depends on object, and equipment to take pictures | Depends how many images & what the object is | 4/10 | Better for models, not room scan. Can be difficult for certain objects. Our Meshroom Tutorial. |
| Agisoft Metashape | 10/10, looks good | Have to pay, Works for room scan (also does satellite image processing & satellite image processing) | ||
| RealityCapture (Unreal Engine) | 10/10, looks good | Have to pay | ||
| RealityScan (Unreal Engine) | Obj: 8/10 | 10 min | 0/10 easy | Scans models, not room |