How to Create Floorplan Captures

Floorplan Mode uses your device's LiDAR sensor to quickly capture detailed 3D models of entire rooms and spaces, making it ideal for generating accurate floorplans of interiors.

Plan Availability

Floorplan Mode requires a LiDAR-enabled iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max, or iPad Pro.

Check Device Compatibility

Floorplan Mode is only available on devices with a LiDAR sensor. Before you get started, check that your device is on the supported list below.

Prepare Your Space

Before you start scanning, take a few minutes to prepare your space. Setting things up in advance means you won't need to stop or adjust your environment mid-scan, which can affect capture quality.

• Doors: Open all doors you plan to scan before starting. Moving a door during an active scan, whether opening or closing it, can degrade overall capture quality. The system also needs to observe a door in its fixed, open position to accurately determine its swing direction in the floorplan.
• Lighting: Turn on all lights where possible. For darker areas, use your device's flashlight to ensure the LiDAR sensor can capture surfaces accurately.
• Obstacles: Remove items from the floor and from corners of walls so the app can accurately map the space. Plan your walking path before you start so you can move through the entire room without stopping.
• Mirrors and glass: Cover or avoid large mirrors and glass surfaces. These can interfere with the LiDAR sensor and introduce errors in your scan.

Tips for a High-Quality Capture

Following these guidelines during your scan will help you get the most accurate floorplan and reduce common issues like tracking loss or missing geometry.

Move at a Steady Walking Pace

Move around the room at a slow, steady walking pace. Moving too quickly can cause tracking loss and LiDAR drift. As you move, keep the following in mind:

• Move your whole body, not just the phone. Your body position matters more than phone movement. Walk through the space rather than reaching or panning from a fixed position.
• Hold your phone with two hands. A steady grip reduces motion blur and improves tracking stability throughout the scan.
• Blue grid disappearing: This indicates areas that have been successfully scanned by LiDAR.
• White outline appearing: This indicates that floorplan boundaries are being detected.

Capture Walls and Ceiling

Scan from floor to ceiling on all walls to create complete 3D geometry for accurate measurements.

• Tilt your device up to capture ceiling corners and edges.
• Scan behind furniture where possible.
• Include doors, windows, and fixtures in your scan.
• Make sure all walls show white outlines before moving on, so the app can accurately generate the floorplan.

Complete Room Coverage

Walk around the entire room and check that all surfaces have been captured. Any remaining blue grid indicates an area that has not yet been fully scanned.

• Fill in the blue grid: Keep scanning until the blue grid is replaced by white mesh across the entire space.
• Hug the left wall: Walk slowly along the left wall of each room and angle the camera inward toward the center of the room as you move around the perimeter.
• Wait for guidelines to appear: White outline guidelines confirm that a wall has been detected. If a guideline has not appeared around a wall, continue recording it from different angles until it does.
• Rotate your body, not the phone: When you need to change direction, turn your whole body rather than rotating the phone. Rotating the phone quickly can cause tracking loss.
• Scan each area only once: Avoid going back over areas you have already captured. Redundant passes can introduce artifacts and reduce model quality.

Create a Floorplan Capture

Once your space is prepared, follow the steps below to complete your scan.

1Select Floorplan Mode

On the Polycam home screen, tap the + button to start a new capture. From the list of capture options, select Floorplan.

2Position Your Device

Before you begin recording, position yourself at one end of the room and aim your device towards the bottom corner of a wall. This gives the LiDAR sensor a clear starting reference point for the scan.

3Start Recording

Tap the record button to begin the capture. Move your device slowly along the wall until a white line appears, indicating that the first wall is being generated.

4Walk the Perimeter of the Space

Walk around the perimeter of the room, capturing the walls, floor, and ceiling as you go. For larger spaces, make multiple passes to ensure all angles are covered. The LiDAR sensor will map the room in real time, building a 3D model of the space as you move.

5Complete the Scan

Once you've captured the entire space, tap the record button again to end the scan. Polycam will then generate a 3D model of the room for you to review and edit.