I saw a (tasteful) designer on twitter mention how he's looking for a new apartment and used LiDAR to quickly map out apartments he saw to help when he eventually moved. He used Polycam, so I quickly went to download and give it a try. My past experience while limited, wasn't good and I wanted to find a better app.

I took a quick capture of my desk, and was particularly impressed with how it captured the cloth I have draped over my chair and the pic of the kiddos on the wall. Obviously, the scan isn't perfect – it's literally the first one I did, and did it quickly. Have a look:

Polycam Capture
Created with Polycam - LiDAR 3D scanner app.

What's nice is that with the tap of a button I can measure all of the elements in the room, or create a floor plan. What's fun though is the realism that jumps out at you after capturing something.

I've long been bullish on what's coming in AR/VR from Apple. Slowly, we're starting to see the pieces come together.

Give it a try, and have some fun.


If you're really into technology or Apple, you might, like me, believe that augmented reality is a next major frontier of growth.

If you're curious about what this might mean, read 'How Will LiDAR Unlock AR's Promise?' to learn more about LiDAR and what the future holds.

Also, follow Robert Scoble's latest twitter persona where he will be covering Apple's AR launch, something he believes happens in the next 12 months (it's now March '21).

If you'd like to find other people to learn from in the AR space, here's a nice list of the AR influencers.

I'll leave you with these fine words from the amazing Horace Dediu: