3D Scan a Room With This LIDAR Rig

As the Saulius Lukse puts it, “Almost any sensor yields more interesting results if mounted on a moving platform.” To this end, a Garmin LIDAR (light detection and ranging) unit was mounted on a stage, then rotated and tilted in a controlled manner in order to generate a point cloud inside of the room it occupies.

The results, as seen in the video below with colors added based on calculated vector directions, are quite interesting.

Unfortunately, this particular setup doesn’t work well outdoors due to this particular LIDAR’s limited range. Hardware consists of an Arduino Nano and a laptop, while improvements could include a single-board computer for tablet or smartphone control via Wi-Fi.

Ready to 3D scan like a pro? Be sure to check out Lukse’s entire write-up here.