View a scan in AR

See a 3D scan through the camera, either on site where it was captured or placed in front of you at true scale or table size, and share it for AR Quick Look.

On this page

You can look at any 3D scan through the camera in two ways:

  • On site: the scan is drawn where it was captured, so you can walk into it and see it over the real ground. For example, see a pipe in a trench that has since been backfilled.
  • In front of me: you place the scan on a surface in front of you, at true scale or shrunk to table size. This works anywhere, including at a desk far from the site.

Before you start

  • A device that supports world-tracking AR, and camera access for OpenSurvey3D.
  • A 3D scan attached to an asset. See 3D capture overview.
  • For On site: a scan that has a position, and a position fix where you're standing. A receiver helps a lot.

Open a scan in AR

Either:

  • In the Capture tab, tap the scan, then tap View in AR.
  • Open the scan's viewer, for example from its thumbnail in the asset's details, and tap AR at the top.

AR opens full screen. The screen stays awake while it's open. Tap ✕ at the top left to close it.

The top right shows a status line and, on site, how deep the scan sits (see below). Below the status are the two mode buttons: On site and In front of me.

Diagram: On site places the scan where it was captured at true scale; In front of me places it by hand at true scale or table size.
The two ways to place a scan in AR.

On site

The scan is placed using its saved position and heading, against your live fix.

  1. Tap On site.
  2. Stand near where the scan was captured. The scan appears in place.
  3. Walk a few metres with the phone. Watch the line near the bottom:
    • Aligned by compass — walk a few metres to fix the direction, with a progress bar, means the view is still using the compass for direction.
    • Aligned by GNSS track · N samples · ±X m fit (in green) means the app has worked out true north from your walk and your GNSS positions, and re-placed the scan.
  4. Read the status line at the top right, for example ±0.04 m · GNSS track. This is the combined sideways uncertainty at the scan's distance: from how well this session is tied to north, how well the scan was when it was captured, and your fix.

About 3 m of walking is enough to start using your track instead of the compass, and a longer walk keeps improving it. With an RTK fix, this cuts the direction error from the compass's 10–20° to a fraction of a degree.

How deep is it?

When the scan is below the ground you're standing on, a line at the top right says how far down it is, for example 1.4 m below your feet. This is measured from the lowest part of the scan to the ground under you, assuming you're holding the phone at about 1.5 m.

The scan always draws through the ground on purpose. A backfilled trench is exactly the case where you need to see what's under the dirt.

Messages you may see on site

Message Meaning
Compass alignment: ±X m sideways at this range. Walk N m with the receiver to align on the track. Still on the compass. Keep walking.
This scan's own direction came from the compass (±N°), so it can be ±X m out about its anchor however well you align now. The scan was captured with a compass heading. Walking now fixes this session's direction, but not the scan's own.
This scan has no heading, so its rotation is unknown — position is placed, direction isn't. The scan's position is right, but it may be turned.
This scan was captured … from here — switch to In front of me to look at it. You're more than 400 m away.
This scan has no position, so it can't be shown on site. The scan was never georeferenced. AR opens in In front of me instead.
Waiting for a position fix to place the scan. No fix yet.

Re-align

Tap Re-align to restart the walk and place the scan again from your current fix. Use it after walking a long way (AR tracking drifts a little over distance), or if the scan looks shifted.

In front of me

  1. Tap In front of me.
  2. Choose True scale or Table size (shrunk to about 40 cm across).
  3. Point the camera at the floor and move slowly. Surfaces the phone has found are shaded blue, and a ring shows where the scan will stand. The message at the bottom tells you what's happening: Point at the floor and move slowly — looking for a surface to stand it on., then Floor found (2.4 m²). Tap to put the scan on the ring.
  4. Tap the screen to place the scan on the ring, or tap Place here to put it at the centre of the screen, even if no floor has been found.

The scan is turned to face you, and a blue marker post shows its origin. A message says where it went, for example Placed 2.1 m away, on the floor. Scan is 6.3 m across — try Table size if you're inside it. The status line reads True scale · placed by hand or Table size · not to scale.

  • Move removes the placement so you can tap somewhere else.
  • Re-place puts it at the centre of the screen again.
  • You can switch between True scale and Table size at any time.

Hide the scan

Hide scan (or Show scan) puts the scan away without losing its placement. Use it when you're standing inside a large scan and it fills the screen, or to compare the scan with what's really there.

Share a scan for AR Quick Look

You can send a scan to anyone with an iPhone or iPad to look at in Apple's AR Quick Look, with no app needed. In the scan's viewer, tap ⋯:

Scan type Option
Mesh (LiDAR mesh) Share USDZ (AR Quick Look) converts the mesh to USDZ and opens the share sheet. Share OBJ is also there.
Photogrammetry model Share USDZ. It's already a USDZ file.
Point cloud Share PLY only. Point clouds can't be shared as USDZ.

A USDZ opened in AR Quick Look is placed by hand, like In front of me. It isn't georeferenced.