Case Study: Lidarx3

A fast and accurate way to 3D-scan, measure, and manage stockpile volumes and surface models.

At a Glance

Jaegersoft worked with Lidarx3 to develop a mobile app using LiDAR technology to accurately measure stockpile volumes. We designed, developed, and deployed the app in collaboration with Lidarx3. It allows users to quickly and accurately measure stockpile volumes using their phones to manage reports and scans.

Our services:

  • Requirements discovery
  • Research and feasibility study
  • MVP definition and analysis
  • UI/UX design
  • Systems design and architecture
  • API integration and development
  • Cross-platform mobile app development
  • Cloud integration and deployment

Meet the Client

Lidarx3 is an innovative start-up with a vision to revolutionise the surveying industry. Its flagship SaaS application aims to measure and manage material stockpiles on worksites, providing a faster surveying method compared to drone and traditional surveys. It also provides a comprehensive material management approach for the surveying industry.

The Challenge

Lidarx3 identified a need for a faster and more accurate method of surveying material stockpiles on worksites. Existing methods, such as drone surveying and traditional surveying, were either costly or time-consuming and required specialised technicians or surveyors. 

To address this need, Lidarx3 proposed using emerging LiDAR technologies within mobile phones to quickly and accurately 3D-scan stockpiles. To implement this solution, Lidarx3 put forward the vision of building a SaaS mobile application that could store the 3D models, calculate the volume, and dynamically build and manage historical surveying reports. This would provide a more efficient and effective method for surveying stockpiles on worksites. 

The Lidarx3 team understood there were software design and development aspects of this project that needed to turn the complex into the simple, such as:

  • determining the constraints of LiDAR technology within mobile phones to accurately 3D-scan stockpile
  • developing an algorithm that can take a 3D stockpile model, parse it, and calculate a volume with accurate results
  • designing a user interface and experience that is intuitive and seamless for worksite surveyors to use
  • developing and designing cloud infrastructure to store and manage stockpile scans for volume calculations
  • designing and developing a web application with highly functional live and historical charting and analytics
  • developing a web application with state-of-the-art charting and analytics functionality, for both live and historical time series data
  • developing customisable testing functionality for users, with the ability to generate and export dynamic PDFs.

The Solution

Testing the possibility and validity of an idea through a feasibility study to design and build a bespoke application. 

Jaegersoft successfully designed, developed, and deployed The Lidarx3 mobile application to the iOS app store. We followed our software development process, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality product while mitigating risk. 

Discovery

Experimentation and feasibility study
In the first engagement, Jaegersoft undertook a series of feasibility study sprints to validate and test the possibility of using the LiDAR technology within iPhone Pro models. 

The feasibility study involved:

  • observing scans the iPhone Pro units completed with real-world stockpiles of various sizes, types, different lighting conditions, and environments
  • developing and testing a scan and volume calculation pipeline using cloud services. 

Requirements discovery workshop
We ran the workshop to ensure alignment with the Lidarx3 team and to fully understand their project vision. Adhering to lean principles, we fleshed out requirements and the features of high value and priority for Lidarx3 target customers. All stakeholders successfully signed off the scope for an MVP, with remaining product functional requirements pushed to future iterations of the application and detailed in our product roadmap. 

Design

Jaegersoft conducted a product specification and design sprint to develop UI/UX wireframes, IEEE Standard requirements specification, and design document. We provided a clickable prototype design to achieve this and continuously validated these designs with end users. This ensured the product specification met the vision of the Lidarx3 team and mitigated risk in the form of code rework during the development phase.

Development

Jaegersoft’s agile software development phase delivered value to Lidarx3. We developed a native iOS application alongside a Flutter framework leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS). This quickly developed and refined the infrastructure on an as-needed basis. Leveraging AWS ensured scalability as well as efficiency in processing scan volume calculations and storage, with no bottleneck in usability. Being mindful of building the right thing, our team delivered incrementally and iteratively to the Lidarx3 team with each work sprint. 

Delivery

Jaegersoft ensured the seamless provision of the Lidarx3 application, setting up the cloud infrastructure as well as provisioning the application to the iOS app store for the end users. We provided maintenance and support packages to ensure Jaegersoft is the technical team on standby for the requirements and feedback of Lidarx3 to customers. 

Results

  • 60% reduction in stockpile volume measurement and calculation times compared to existing drone and traditional surveying methods.
  • Improved accuracy in volume calculation results compared to drone surveying methods. 
  • User-friendly design with no special training or certification required. 
  • Ability to send site scan PDF reports to management and stakeholders straight from mobile phone.
  • Possibility of exporting Surface Model DXF and point cloud files to integrate with existing CAD programs.
  • Portability – no expensive drones or surveying equipment required.