5.1 · 3D Scans

Take a Scan

Walk the passage and watch it build in 3D.

Which iPhones scan: Check your model before a trip.

Scanning needs LiDAR: any Pro or Pro Max from iPhone 12 Pro on. Every iPhone can view scans a teammate shares, so one Pro on the team can scan for everyone. Check yours on Devices.

Start the scan: Pick LiDAR Scan or ThermDAR; three ways in.

With a Cave Line recording, tap Scan in the Drop Station menu, then LiDAR Scan or ThermDAR. A start station drops and the scan screen opens: check the picture (and, for ThermDAR, the FLIR panel), then tap Start. The live wireframe builds over the camera as you move. The X beside Start closes without scanning. On a hike, tap LiDAR Scan on the Scans tab to scan a cliff or an entrance; it pins to your GPS spot (Hike Pins). Or tap LiDAR Scan or ThermDAR at the bottom of the Scans tab for a scan that isn't tied to a line.

ThermDAR scan: A LiDAR scan with the FLIR painting heat on it.

The FLIR rides along and saves temperature frames while LiDAR builds the mesh. Clip it on and align it first (Overlay). Tap ThermDAR: with the FLIR not connected it connects first (or opens pairing). Start stays dim (Waiting for FLIR...) until the FLIR picture shows, so no scan runs without heat. While scanning, a corner panel shows the FLIR picture and how many frames are saved (4 a second to start; Settings, Media, Thermal, Scan); Not aligned there means the heat can't be placed until you align. Sweep slowly and stay within a few meters: thermal reads best head-on and close. After Stop the scan bakes as usual, then every point of the mesh gets its temperature. Each minute saves about 50 MB of frames at 4 a second.

Move slow, stay close: Fewer holes and a cleaner mesh.

LiDAR reads out to about 5 m. Sweep slowly, get close to the walls in big rooms, and overlap so there are no gaps. Wet rock and running water leave holes. The torch lights the walls so the camera can track; the pin button drops a map symbol without stopping.

Watch the warnings: What each on-screen alert means and what to do.

SLOW DOWN: you're moving faster than the LiDAR can build.
DEVICE TOO HOT: stop and let the phone cool. Cool rock makes a good heatsink.
MEMORY LOW: stop to keep what you have.
TRACKING LOST: move slowly back to an area you've already scanned.

There's no time limit; long scans split into segments on their own (Scanning settings).

SpeleoMap stops a scan on its own only if the phone gets critically hot or runs critically low on memory.

Stop: It also measures the passage at both stations.

Tap the stop button and confirm Stop and save. Stop grays out with Saving scan... until the screen closes. An end station drops where you are and the scan processes in the background, so keep surveying. The scan also measures the passage at both stations: see Splays and LRUD.

Mentioned in: 3.4 Splays and LRUD · 9.11 Scanning · 9.6 Alerts