The iPad Pro: An Inflection Point for Reality Capture

When we founded Avvir we made a bet on LIDAR. We knew photography was significantly less expensive and therefore a far more ubiquitous form of reality capture on the construction job site. But we also knew LIDAR was more accurate, and that accuracy mattered. We were also confident that LIDAR prices would continue to decline as they had in the past. We watched the cost of LIDAR scanners fall steadily but photos continued to be the most cost-effective route for construction progress tracking.

The price of LIDAR has fallen precipitously over the last 20 years.

Last week, that may have all changed. Apple announced that their new iPad pro will include a LIDAR chip, potentially enabling teams to cost effectively harness the power of laser scan analysis and make progress tracking, deviation detection, and BIM updates an automatic part of their workflow. 

We’re excited to celebrate this milestone and believe this is truly an inflection point in the adoption of a very powerful tool in the construction reality capture toolbox.