If you've heard "we'll just scan it" on a project, there's a good chance someone meant LiDAR. Here's what that actually delivers — and what to ask for.
What is LiDAR?
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) measures distance with laser pulses to build a dense, accurate 3D point cloud — a set of millions of 3D coordinates representing every surface in a space. Unlike a photo-based tour, a point cloud is measurable engineering data.
The file formats that matter
For AEC and BIM work, the deliverable format determines whether the data is usable:
.e57— the open standard for point-cloud exchange..rcp— imports directly into Autodesk Revit and ReCap..pts— a widely supported plain-text point format.
We export all three from the Matterport Pro3 and the survey-grade Leica BLK360 G2. See our LiDAR scanning and BIM services for the full deliverable list.
When does accuracy matter?
Not every project needs millimeter precision:
- Coordination, RFIs, progress capture? The Pro3's ~1% room-scale accuracy is plenty.
- Modeling input for Revit? Use survey-grade Leica BLK360 G2 data.
- Marketing or training tour? A standard Matterport tour is enough.
The trap is paying for survey-grade accuracy you don't need — or worse, modeling from data that isn't accurate enough. We scope the right tool up front. If you're working a project in the region, our AEC page covers our typical workflow, or reach out to talk specifics.
