Guides
Scanning a floor plan with LiDAR
Surveying a three-room flat with a tape and a notepad takes a good hour and produces a sheet of paper somebody then has to retype. A scan with an iPhone LiDAR sensor produces geometry directly, in a few minutes.
It does not replace judgement. A scan yields walls, openings and room outlines, but it makes no decisions: what a room is called, what counts as living area and where a wall really ends stay your job. The scan shortens the capture, not the assessment.
How a good scan happens
Walk slowly and evenly along the walls and keep the device steady. Clear whatever hides a wall beforehand — a wardrobe against the wall is otherwise read as the wall edge and shifts the room by 60 centimetres.
Watch light and glass. Large windows, mirrors and dark corners are the classic problem spots. Capture those areas twice and afterwards check on the plan that the edge sits where it belongs.
- Walk slowly and evenly along the walls
- Move furniture away from walls where possible
- Capture mirrors and large glazing twice
- Verify two dimensions with a tape after scanning
Judging accuracy realistically
A scan is accurate enough for marketing and pre-design but it is not a geodetic survey. Expect centimetre-level deviation per wall, which can accumulate along a long corridor.
So the same rule applies as with the photo import: check two known dimensions against reality afterwards. If both match, the calibration is fine; if both deviate proportionally, correct the scale once for the whole plan.
Clean-up in the editor
A scan often produces more geometry than you need: short wall fragments, duplicated edges, remnants behind furniture. Clear those before labelling — the plan check points you at the suspicious spots.
Then comes the actual work: naming rooms, assigning room types, checking openings and setting the living-area factors. Only that information turns geometry into a usable floor plan.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an iPhone with LiDAR?
No. The web editor works standalone: you can draw any plan by hand or generate one from a photo of an existing drawing. Scanning is a shortcut for capture, not a prerequisite.
How accurate is a LiDAR scan?
Accurate enough for marketing and pre-design, not for a legally evidenced survey. Verify two known dimensions afterwards and correct the scale if needed.
What do I do with fragments after a scan?
Clean them up before labelling. Very short wall pieces and duplicated edges show up in the plan check; removing them takes a few minutes and prevents export errors.