Which device should I use for an interior measure-up?
The Lixel K2 suits small and mid-sized interiors: it is lighter, quicker to deploy and quicker to learn, which matters when the person capturing is a designer or a site engineer rather than a surveyor. The Lixel L2 Pro suits large floor plates, facades, exteriors and multi-floor buildings, and it can be carried, vehicle-mounted or drone-mounted. Both register in real time and both export to the same formats.
Is a handheld scanner accurate enough for BIM?
XGRIDS handheld scanners deliver 1 cm relative accuracy and 3 cm absolute accuracy (RMSE); for the Lixel L3, post-processed values are 5 mm relative (1σ) and 2 cm absolute. Absolute georeferencing comes from the integrated GNSS RTK module. Relative accuracy is what governs modeling: it describes the dimensional agreement between any two points in the capture, which is what a wall thickness, a floor-to-floor height or a clearance check depends on. Absolute accuracy governs whether the capture sits correctly in a site coordinate system.
Does it work where there is no satellite signal?
Yes. The device localises with SLAM rather than satellite positioning, so interiors, basements, utility corridors, tunnels and forests map continuously. In these areas SLAM keeps the result consistent in relative terms; for absolute coordinates, entry and exit points with RTK coverage or ground control points are used. In cluttered, narrow spaces, a handheld unit reaches what a tripod cannot.
How do I get the point cloud into Revit?
LixelStudio exports RCP, E57 and LAS, all of which open directly in Autodesk ReCap and Revit with no conversion step. RCP is the shortest path: export from LixelStudio, open in ReCap, link into Revit. For scan-to-BIM modeling, the LCC Revit plugin generates levels, walls, doors and windows from the capture's semantic data.
How does handheld SLAM compare to a terrestrial laser scanner?
A terrestrial laser scanner captures from fixed stations, and each station is set up, leveled, targeted and later registered. Handheld SLAM solves position continuously while the operator walks, registering the cloud in real time, so coverage is a function of walking route rather than station count. In practice that puts capture efficiency 5 to 10 times higher. Terrestrial scanners retain an advantage where a project requires millimeter-level accuracy on individual measurements.
Which file formats and software are supported?
LixelStudio exports LAS, LAZ, E57, RCP, PLY and OBJ, which covers Autodesk ReCap, Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks, CloudCompare and SketchUp. The 3DGS scene opens in a browser viewer and in Unreal Engine; standard 3DGS formats including PLY, SOG and SPZ are supported alongside the open LCC format.
Do I need a survey qualification to operate the scanner?
No. There is no station setup, no target placement and no registration pass to plan, so operation is a matter of walking a sensible route and watching the live coverage map. Teams typically have someone productive within a day. Projects that need absolute georeferencing to a site coordinate system still need survey control established the usual way.
Can I calculate stockpile volumes?
Yes. LixelStudio supports terrain generation and volume analysis directly from captured datasets.