Initally, laser scanning was adopted primarily in various industrial contexts. Therefore, we often think of laser scanners as proper pieces of industrial equipment.

While that still holds true, laser scanners are becoming more mainstream. The best proof of this is the integrated laser scanner that newer versions of iPhones have located on the back, right where the camera modules are. That said, let’s take a brief look at various applications of laser scanners.

Construction

The construction industry loves laser scanning. One of the biggest benefits is improved planning and design. For example, with a detailed scan of the construction site, it’s possible to coordinate between different workers and the installations they’re required to install.

Renovations and retrofits are key areas of laser scanning applications as well. Capturing a scan of old buildings that are about to be renovated can be hugely useful when it comes to project planning and design, as well as saving time and money.

Forensics 

One of the earliest adopters of laser scanning is forensics. Capturing the scenes of crimes or accidents via a 3D scanner is quite conventional for later analysis of the scenes.

Mining

Mining has always been quite a dangerous profession. With 3D laser scanning and a number of other modern technologies, it’s possible to massively improve safety. By laser scanning parts of mines, it’s possible to later perform certain measurements remotely instead of personnel performing them underground.

Quality Control

Critical engineering parts are the perfect example of a case where quality control is a must. For example, parts such as large turbine blades can be scanned upon installmet, then  monitored and inspected later for potential damage or deformation based on the initial 3D scan.

Oil & Gas

The oil and gas industry massively relies on 3D laser scanning for the purpose of cutting costs and making it easier to design, upgrade, or repair pipelines for current or future facilities. In such complex constructions, having a digital 3D representation of the site makes planning much easier and more accurate. Even offsite contractors can virtually visit the site, thanks to laser scanning.

Archeology

Laser scanning plays a big part in archeological research as scanners can be used to capture terrain of interest. These 3D scans may serve as a model during research or help recreate the site with high accuracy.

Amateur Scanning

This refers to average consumer electronics. These days, devices such as iPhones and iPads are fitted with lidar scanners, which are a specific type of laser scanner suitable for mobile applications. With lidar scanners, pocket devices can be transformed into powerful 3D scanning tools for objects or even entire rooms.

As you can probably imagine, the costs involved in laser scanning can vary massively. In this section, we’ll provide you with a brief overview of costs that you can expect either for a laser scanning service or for purchasing the laser scanning equipment itself.

Laser Scanning Service

There are multiple variables that come into play when determining the price of a laser scanning service.

A large part of the price is the size of the area and the type of object that needs to be scanned. Once that’s determined, the price is further influenced by the customer’s requests in terms of what output is required. For example, a raw scan point cloud will likely cost you less than a polished CAD model from the scan.

Besides those variables, you may also have to pay the travel costs of the technicians to reach the destination of scanning. This is why it’s important to choose local service providers.

To give you some context, a laser scanning service of an industrial plant usually starts around $5,000, and the price could even reach six figures if a very large and complex scan is required. You can expect the prices for an average service to vary between $5,000 and $30,000.

Purchasing the Equipment

Purchasing your own laser scanning equipment is definitely a more reasonable decision than choosing a laser scanning service if you’re frequently scanning things.

There’s a huge range of scanners available, from consumer-grade options to professional devices. Keep in mind that scanners suitable for long-range scanning like the Leica ScanStationP40 can reach a 6-figure price tag.

If you fall closer to the hobbyist side of the spectrum and aren’t looking to make a huge investment, the ~$750 Matter and Form 3D Scanner V2 uses infrared structured light that’s capable of scanning areas of up to 250 x 180 mm. With up to 0.1-mm resolution, it’s a great budget pick.

A professional compact handheld laser scanner such as the Shining 3D EinScan HX, which is capable of capturing scans in full color, will set you back around $14,000. For even more professional options, check out our picks for the best 3D scanners.

Time-of-flight (ToF) scanners are best suited for long-range measurements. They work on the simple principle of light reflection. A pulse of laser light is emitted, it gets reflected off some object, and it returns to the sensor. During that process, the scanner records the time it took for the signal to return. The distance between the scanner and the point where the laser was reflected can be calculated using the time of travel and the known speed of the laser light.

Due to the nature of the ToF scanning technology, these scanners are capable of scanning objects far from the scanner itself. However, with larger distances come more time needed for data collection. Creating scans of far-away objects with this type of scanner is time-consuming.

ToF scanners have lower data collection speeds than phase-based scanners (see the next section) because every pulse needs to return to the scanner before a new one is sent. While this could be improved by increasing the pulse rate, other issues start to appear like the need for additional hardware and compromised safety due to a more powerful laser.

Lidar is a type of ToF scanner that uses multiple instances of light to collect data. While this difference results in a faster mapping of a given area, lidar is more prone to interference. We’ll cover lidar in more depth below.

ToF sensors are quite accurate, achieving a dimensional accuracy of 4-10 mm.

• Range: 5-300+ meters
• Suitability: Terrain mapping, aerial imagery

With the capability of capturing an astonishing million points per second, phase-based is the fastest laser scanning technology. On top of that, it’s also the most accurate.

Such astonishing capabilities are possible because modern phase-based scanners continuously emit a laser beam rather than waiting for a laser signal to return to the sensor before capturing the next point. While ToF scanners use such “sampling windows” to conduct measurements, phase-based scanning operates using a continuous beam to quickly map surfaces. Although, it’s a challenge to maintain high accuracy at long measurement distances.

As the name suggests, phase-based scanners emit laser beams with alternating frequencies. Once a beam returns to the sensor, the phase shift between the received signal and the emitted signal is registered, then used to calculate the distance between the object and the scanner.

Phase-based scanners are deployed for applications that require incredible accuracy, but whose range doesn’t exceed 80 meters. The range of phase-based scanners is directly related to the coherence length of the laser being used. As the distance between the scanned object and the scanner increases, increased noises in the collected data start to appear, therefore impacting the quality of a scan.

• Range: 1-50 meters
• Suitability: Architecture and BIM, archeology, civil engineering

If you’ve always been wondering where trigonometry is used in the real world, laser triangulation technology is the perfect example. Triangulation scanners emit laser light onto the object and a certain angle to calculate a surface map. This approach can give highly accurate results for short-range measurements.

The laser beam follows a path that looks like a triangle, with the points being the laser source, the scanned object, and the sensor that detects the reflected beam. Laser triangulation scanners detect changes in the angle between the initial and the reflected beam. As a result, they also capture changes in the side length of the triangle that are recorded due to surface features on an object.

Trigonometric formulas give very precise measurements if it’s utilized on shorter distances. Accuracy drops significantly with greater distances because of errors that are due in part to the variation in how different materials reflect light. Data collection also only happens on one plane, so scanning large or complex objects become a challenge.

For those reasons, this technology is best for capturing smaller objects that are nearby the scanner. Laser triangulation is the go-to option for hand-held laser scanners.

• Range: Up to 5 meters
• Suitability: Small objects

Lidar sensors project pulses of light, usually in the form of organized dot patterns in order to perceive the depth and therefore the shapes of objects around it. The majority of lidar sensors use light that belongs to the infrared spectrum. Lidar is a quite fast scanning technique and one that’s generally precise as well, although there’s a fair bit of variation.

The lidar sensor fires instances of laser light onto its surroundings. The light hits the objects, bounces off, and is detected by the sensor. The amount of time that this process takes is recorded and used for calculating distances in the same way that’s used for a single laser beam in ToF scanning. Objects can be precisely measured, scanned, and mapped.

Lidar scans generate a point cloud, whereas ToF scans produce a depth map to capture the surface of a scanned object. These days, point cloud maps have become easier to process by computers than depth maps, hence the favoring of lidar for use in modern vehicles for traffic detection.

While the range of lidar devices can vary significantly, all are limited by the same factor. As the range increases, the back-scattered signal becomes weaker, making it more difficult for the sensor to capture the signal. This has a direct influence on the quality of the scan, with larger distances being a challenge for lidar scanning technology.

One of the earliest adopters of lidar technology was Apple. Lidar sensors can be found on top-of-the-line iPhones and iPads, which makes them powerful devices for generating 3D scans of rooms and smaller objects with the help of third-party apps. However, despite the compact size of modern lidar hardware, it’s more expensive than the hardware required for ToF technology.

While the accuracy of a lidar scanner largely depends on the specific hardware used in a scanner, new iPhones – specifically the Pro versions that come with a built-in lidar scanner – are reported to have an accuracy of ± 1 cm.

• Range: 5-10 meters
• Suitability: Rooms and smaller objects