Spatial Computing Case Study

WebGIS 3D Construction Site Scanning Platform

An iOS LiDAR, photogrammetry, GIS, and cloud platform for capturing construction sites and producing measurable 3D and geospatial outputs.

Construction and Civil EngineeringiOS, Cloud Backend and Web Dashboard
WebGIS iOS LiDAR scanning and construction site analysis application

Project Overview

From operational challenge to working product

WebGIS turns a LiDAR-equipped iPhone into an integrated construction-site capture tool. Field engineers can collect point clouds, geotagged photographs, and GPS coordinates in one scanning session.

Captured assets are uploaded to a Python and Django backend, processed through photogrammetry pipelines, and delivered through a web dashboard as point clouds, USDZ and GLB models, GeoTIFF overlays, and measurement tools.

Business Challenge

The problems the product needed to solve

Replace slow, expensive, and fragmented site-documentation workflows with a mobile-first process.

Capture LiDAR point clouds and geotagged images simultaneously without frame drops, misalignment, or data loss.

Upload large scan packages reliably from construction sites with unstable connectivity.

Produce 3D, point-cloud, measurement, and GIS outputs through one connected platform.

Interactive 3D Scan Demo

Explore WebGIS point-cloud scans in the browser

Rotate, zoom, and inspect three sample PLY scans captured for the WebGIS workflow. The demo shows how field data can move from mobile LiDAR capture into a browser-based review experience.

Construction Scan 01

A LiDAR point-cloud sample for reviewing field geometry and spatial detail from a browser.

Drag to rotate • Scroll to zoom

Preparing scan viewer...

Construction Scan 02

A second site-capture sample that demonstrates interactive navigation across dense scan data.

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Preparing scan viewer...

Construction Scan 03

A larger point-cloud sample for inspecting how mobile capture supports site documentation.

Drag to rotate • Scroll to zoom

Preparing scan viewer...

Our Solution

A connected system designed for the workflow

The iOS application uses ARKit and Core Location for LiDAR depth, spatial tracking, and GPS metadata, while RealityKit and Metal maintain a responsive real-time point-cloud preview.

A Django REST Framework backend manages uploads and asynchronous AliceVision processing. The admin dashboard lets project teams review scans, measure distance, area, and volume, inspect 3D models, and export GIS-ready files.

Key Features

Capabilities delivered through the platform

LiDAR point-cloud capture

ARKit captures dense spatial data while the device camera records overlapping site imagery.

Geotagged imagery

Core Location attaches coordinates, altitude, and heading to photographs captured during the scan.

Dual photogrammetry pipeline

AliceVision and Apple photogrammetry workflows produce detailed models in USDZ and GLB formats.

GeoTIFF generation

The backend creates georeferenced raster outputs for use in QGIS, ArcGIS, and related GIS tools.

Point-cloud measurements

Dashboard tools support distance, area, trench-depth, and excavation-volume analysis.

Offline capture and smart sync

Scan data remains on the device and uploads with retry behavior when connectivity becomes available.

Technologies Used

Product and engineering stack

  • Swift
  • UIKit
  • ARKit
  • RealityKit
  • Metal
  • Core Location
  • Python
  • Django REST Framework
  • AliceVision
  • USDZ
  • GLB
  • GeoTIFF

Results & Impact

What the work made possible

One connected field-to-dashboard workflow

Point clouds, images, GPS data, 3D models, GIS files, and measurements are managed through one platform.

Stable simultaneous capture

LiDAR and image capture were engineered to run together without degrading either data stream.

Up to 100 meters per scan

A single mobile session can cover construction features such as trenches and foundations across substantial site distances.

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