For most applications, the Auto Scan will automatically create a good scan of your space. If the scan auto detects incorrectly and you need to edit, such as over-scanning through a glass wall, you also have the option to edit the Mini Map or tap to add/remove a wall.

Starting your initial scan of a new building

To begin scanning with Lens:

1. Physically go to the floor you want to scan, then into the room where you want to start.
2. Open Lens, then open the portfolio and tap the existing building or create a new building.
   To create a new building, see “Creating and editing buildings."
3. Touch and hold the Lock button to unlock the building to add a floor, then tap + to start scanning.
   The calibration process begins.
4. To calibrate the scanner, hold it perpendicular to the wall, move slowly with very little rotation, and aim at a location with clear geometry in view (wall, floor, and ceiling surfaces). Aiming at a corner can be helpful.
5. After calibration, hold your device vertically (always perpendicular to the walls) and move the camera around in a slow and controlled manner.
   As you point your camera around the room, a mesh grid will appear on all the surfaces on your screen. The grid indicates scan coverage and shows that point cloud data is being captured.
6. Once the mesh grid appears, choose any wall as your starting point. Then follow these steps:
   • Build the mesh grid: Aim your camera at that wall and watch the mesh grid appear. 
   • Mark one point: Swipe or tap the screen anywhere on a clear vertical wall surface.
     Swiping or tapping informs the app where the wall surface is and how the software creates a point map of the space.
     Be sure to swipe or tap a clear, empty spot on the primary wall surface, NOT objects like windows, doors, small features, furniture, or objects hanging on the wall. 
     
     Note: If you need to undo an incorrect selection (for example, you marked the wrong surface) or if your scan preview does not match the look of the room you are scanning, tap the Undo arrow below the + button to undo one or more markers until the scan preview shows a part of the room correctly. Then re-do one or more markers while continuing to check the scan preview.
   • Flood fill: After you mark one point on a wall, the wall surface flood fills, meaning it is shaded with a light orange color. Move your device camera around in a controlled manner to flood-fill most of the wall surface with the orange color.
   • Doors and windows: When scanning a door or a window, make sure the camera gets a full view of the frame around the opening. 
7. Move to the next adjacent wall in the room (continue in a single direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise, as you move around the room to capture all walls) and repeat the process:
   • Point your camera at a surface to build the mesh grid.
   • Mark one point on the surface.
   • Move your device camera to flood fill most of the surface.
8. Repeat step 7 until you capture every unique wall surface in the room, finishing with the wall adjacent to the first wall you scanned.
9. When you are done scanning a single room, tap the Done to save your scan.
10. Assign Label: You will be prompted to assign a label to the room. This can be done by selecting a name from a predefined list, or by creating a custom label. Tap the microphone icon to use voice-to-text to create a label name.
11. Finish the Room: Tap Next Room to move to the next space you want to scan and repeat steps 3–7 or tap Finish Floor, if the floor is complete or if you need to finish the rest of the scan at another date or time.
    
    After completing the room, the app will optimize the scan data, create a 2D room plan and a 3D digital twin of the room that will be available within the other PassiveLogic applications.

Congratulations! Your digital twin scan is now complete and ready to be available to other applications in the PassiveLogic ecosystem. (QuantumSync™ feature coming soon.)

Restarting a scanning session

To complete additional room scans on an existing floor:

1. Open Lens, and tap the building within the portfolio where you want to continue your scan.
2. Press and hold the Lock button to unlock the floors to make them editable.
3. Tap the floor where you want to continue your scan, then tap the Scan button in the bottom of the screen.
   
   A pop-up window opens with a picture of a location from your previous scan.
4. Tap Continue and walk to the room from the previous scan shown in the picture (or walk to another previously scanned space on that floor).
5. Point your device camera at a wall and move it around in a slow and controlled manner, perpendicular to the wall, until you see the grid start to form on the walls. 
   
   Now you are ready to scan your additional rooms and spaces.
6. For detailed scanning instructions, refer to “Starting your initial scan of a new building.”

Scanning tips

To scan your building with Lens™ and generate a Quantum™ digital twin, you will walk around each room while pointing your iOS device camera at every wall surface. Here are some general tips to keep in mind before you start.

• Prevent a scanning session from being interrupted by staying within the app at all times.
  Do not exit Lens unless you are done with your scan. If your scan is interrupted, the room you are scanning won't be saved. However, finished rooms on the floor will still be saved, and when you restart the scan you will be prompted to start again before the room where you were interrupted. 
  Tip: Consider turning on the “do not disturb” setting on your iOS device to prevent incoming calls or messages from disrupting the scan. Go to Settings > Focus and tap Do Not Disturb.
• The spaces you are scanning must be reasonably well lit with natural or ambient light (including the passageways between rooms). See “Lighting guidelines” in Scanning accuracy.
• Plan your walking route before starting a scan and be aware of your environment at all times. Your space should have clear walking paths and no hazards that could lead to trips, slips, or falls.
• We recommend starting with a smaller space for your first scan (about 1–3 rooms) to get familiar with the scanning process before tackling a larger or more complex building.
• For best results, scan a room by starting with one wall, then continue in a single direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Don’t duplicate walls or change direction during the room scan. When you have all the walls captured, finish your room scan.
• While scanning a room, keep the camera perpendicular to the wall surfaces at all times and stay close to the walls that you are scanning. The lidar camera range limit is 5 meters (~16 feet) for sensing objects or surfaces.
• When scanning a door or window, make sure the iOS camera gets a full view of the opening or else the door or window may not be correctly identified.
• While scanning, pay close attention to the scan preview and make sure it reflects the shape of the room.
• The lidar camera will produce a better scan if there are texture and/or color differences between the wall, floor, and ceiling surfaces.
• Do not cover your iOS camera lens when moving between rooms (such as putting it in a pocket). When moving between rooms, keep the camera tilted to keep the floor in view to help maintain room orientation.

Scanning accuracy

Accuracy is highly dependent on light level, light temperature, and other environmental factors such as how fast the user is moving through the space during a scan. This section contains recommended lighting and motion guidelines for these variables to achieve the highest accuracy.

Lighting guidelines

• Wall surfaces should be well-lit from all angles and have an illuminance of approximately 250–400 lux.
• Light temperature of around ~6500 Kelvin (D65)—similar to full daylight—is ideal. Avoid warm or any other tinted light sources.

Motion guidelines

• For best results, move slightly slower than what most people would consider normal walking speed (1.2–1.4 m/s).
• Avoid fast or abrupt movements of the iOS camera while scanning as they can affect scan accuracy.
• Scan a room in a single direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise.

For more information, see "Scanning Guidelines."

Scanning guidelines

The following tips can help improve the quality of your scans.

For any errors you experience that involve the quality of a building scan, please provide a description of the issue with screenshots and send to: support@passivelogic.com 

• Plan for safety: Check your walking route before starting a scan, and be aware of your environment at all times. Your space should have clear walking paths and no hazards that could lead to trips, slips, or falls.
• App settings: Stay in the app during scans to prevent errors. Consider turning on “do not disturb” to prevent interruptions (Settings > Focus and tap Do Not Disturb). If you are interrupted, only finished rooms will be saved. Grant permission for the app to use camera, Bluetooth, and location.
• Calibration: To calibrate the scanner before the scan starts, point at a corner, then move slowly up and down from floor to ceiling. When the grid appears on the wall, calibration is complete and you can start scanning.
• Lighting and motion: Bright lighting and daylight are helpful, 250–400 lux and around ~6500 Kelvin (D65). Move the iPhone smoothly, walk rather slowly, and pick one direction to scan around each room, clockwise or counter-clockwise. Don’t duplicate walls or change direction during room scans.
• Lidar scanner position: Mark walls only when the phone is being held vertically and perpendicular to the wall. Stay close to the wall, within ~16 feet/5m. Keep scanner and camera uncovered at all times. When moving between rooms to start another scan, tilt the phone slightly downward to keep the floor in view. The floor helps the scanner keep track of its location relative to the previous room.
• Scan order: Try scanning a smaller space first for practice (1-3 rooms). Scan central spaces first, such as central hallways or open areas before scanning rooms surrounding them. Close doors when you enter a room to scan it. After scanning all walls in one direction (without duplicating), make sure to tap Done  and name the room before moving to the next room.
• Wall marking tips: Mark once per wall for most rooms, in the center of the wall on a flat, opaque surface with no glass, doors, obstructions, or corners. For long walls, mark at regular intervals every ~20 feet/6m. For curved or complex walls, mark at intervals ~5 feet/1.5m equal distance apart, and keep watching the preview to check the geometry and redo marking as needed.

Capture the edges of doors and windows, and a bit of the ceiling and floor. Make sure that the flood fill and grid are appearing above and below transparent glass, such as on solid window frames.

On narrow wall segments (~3 feet/1m or less), use a vertical swipe up or down rather than a tap. Ignore walls that don't close off spaces or define room geometry.

Along cluttered walls, try to scan and mark flat wall surfaces wherever possible, such as below desks or tables. It can help to move the iPhone closer to the wall when capturing flat areas of cluttered walls.

• Check the preview after each mark: After marking a wall, check the room geometry displayed in the small preview map in the upper right of the screen. If the position or angle of a wall looks wrong, tap Undo and redo the marker placement.