Scan the site#

Your camera scans continually while you are in AR mode. Good alignment depends on having a comprehensive scan of the site.

Check for poor scan coverage by turning on Wireframe in the Model appearance controls. Poor scan coverage is indicated by holes in the scan mesh, and on non-LiDAR devices, insufficient feature points.

Scan before and during placement#

Scan the entire site in AR mode before you place your model. Some areas may be beyond the distance that you can scan: walk around the site as you scan, Scan areas from different points of view.

If there is insufficient information in the scan, the Mapping area dialog may appear during model placement.

Important: Scans are not saved. You must scan the site and load the model in the same session.

Scan after placement to maintain alignment#

Your device will continue scanning after the model is placed.

To maintain the model’s alignment, you need good scan coverage. As you scan:

• Move the device slowly as you move around the model.
• Avoid covering the lens. This includes placing the lens face down or placing a cover over it. Covering the lens in any way causes model drift; the camera needs to ‘see’ the environment at all times and ‘blinding’ it will cause it to lose the model’s place.

Minimize problems areas in your scan#

Holes in the scan mesh can occur in extremely bright or dark areas, as well as in complex areas (clutter) or expanses without features.

• Bright lights (the sun, reflective material, bright artificial lights) can ‘blind’ the camera’s view of the site, particularly if you point the device’s camera directly at them.
• Really dark areas look like empty void to cameras, and if the device can’t recognize that it is looking at something physical, model drift will occur.

Many factors can affect the quality of the scan, and a number of them have simple solutions. See Scanning issues and workarounds.