iPhone Pro for Lidar scanning

Flame Flame Questions
1

Just wondering if anyone has or is using an iPhone Pro for LIDAR scanning? If so, how are the results and what software were you using?

I was stunned to see the price variations when it comes to LIDAR scanners. Some a fraction of the cost of an iPhone Pro to others many multiples the price. If there are any other LIDAR scanners that people would recommend then I’d love to hear about them.

I’m also planning on doing some more experimentation with Nerf which potentially is another reason to consider an iPhone Pro.

Any thoughts/suggestions welcome.

2

I think @Ashby would be the person to talk to. That is currently his daily life from what I’ve heard.

3

This is a long conversation, but to give you the TLDR as i head out the door to set, this is the order of preference from digital integration perspective:

From best to worst on set deliveries (outside of hdris, camera + lens info, lensgrids etc):

  1. Real Lidar (Leica RTC 360, Faro S Series) + Photogrammetry
  2. Real Lidar without photogrammetry
  3. Photogrammetry + Scale Markers
  4. Photogrammetry + Polycam (iPhone TOF Lidar) for scale reference
  5. Polycam + Photo reference
  6. Photo reference
  7. Nothing :expressionless:

So bottom line, it’s better than nothing. But if that’s constantly your best deliverable expect to get massive side-eye from your tracking team.

I’d prob go as far as saying at this point photogrammetry is as important as lidar.

Nerfs / Guassian Splats are still not really there yet, it might be useful from a rendering perspective in the near future - i.e. only have to render every 5th frame and it interpolates the rest - but for now, just do photogrammetry, it’s the same capture process (structure from motion) so if it nerfs do get there at least your methodology can be used for both.

J.

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4

Wouldn’t it be great if Flame integrated a simple version of the Autodesk photogrammetry software into our workflow. Imagine the possibilities! Particularly if some Ai was used to help in the camera settings calculations.

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5

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed answer. You have pretty much confirmed my suspicions. We had a quick play with Nerf & Gaussian splats and there was a load of cleanup work to do. Sounds like photogrammetry is still the go unless you’ve got a pro LIDAR rig.

Really appreciate your response.

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