New app makes 3D scans of your home – making measuring up a doddle

Banish the measuring tape for a clever new app that can capture thousands of measurements in seconds

Ginevra Benedetti
By Ginevra Benedetti
last updated

The arduous task of measuring areas of your house with a tape measure may become a thing of the past.

A clever new sensor can be attached to an iPad to measure entire rooms within seconds and turn them into 3D.

room with wooden flooring

(Image credit: Occipital)

Here's how it works:

Created by Occipital, the Structure sensor clips onto the top of your iPad and plugs into the lightning port. It has an infrared transmitter that picks up thousands of measurements through a 120 degrees wide-vision lens, providing you with all the information you need without error.

Think you've heard of it before? You probably have, as the Structure depth-sensing camera has been around for a few years, but Occipital's been hard at work to try and make it easier and quicker to turn physical space into data.

apple phone

(Image credit: Occipital)

The difference now is that there's a new iOS app, Canvas, to go with it. The app will help to guide you through a large scan and notify you if you've missed a spot. Once finished, you can see a raw 3D model straight away, with the precise distances between objects.

There's also a ‘Scan to CAD' feature on the app, where you can submit your scan to be processed by a computer. It generates a CAD file of the raw scan in full colour for hard-core DIY and remodeling projects.

living room picture capture in tab

(Image credit: Occipital)

After 48 hours, the CAD file will be emailed back to your account - a much quicker and cheaper process than doing it manually. According to Occipital Labs co-founder Jeff Powers, scanning an eight-room home takes approximately 30 minutes with Structure, while manual measurements would take around seven hours. Contracting the work would cost close to £1,600, while Occipital charges £24 per room for the 'Scan to CAD' feature.

Canvas is the first app Occipital has created for its unique scanner, with the app and the Structure sensor made specifically to use with the iPad. However, it is possible that in the future the app could work with anything from Project Tango devices to Microsoft's 3D-scanning tech.

Watch the space!

For more information visit Occipital.

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Ginevra Benedetti
Ginevra Benedetti
Deputy Editor (Print)

Ginevra Benedetti has been the Deputy Editor of Ideal Home magazine since 2021. With a career in magazines spanning nearly twenty years, she has worked for the majority of the UK’s interiors magazines, both as staff and as a freelancer. She first joined the Ideal Home team in 2011, initially as the Deputy Decorating Editor and has never left! She currently oversees the publication of the brand’s magazine each month, from planning through to publication, editing, writing or commissioning the majority of the content.  

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