Guide · Engineers and architects

SLAM scanning, drone LiDAR or total station?

The right method depends on three things: the accuracy your design requires, the area to cover, and what's happening on site during the survey. Most mandates combine methods.

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Mobile LiDAR system mounted on a vehicle for a corridor survey

In brief

Short answer

A total station offers the highest point-level accuracy but covers little ground quickly. SLAM mobile scanning captures data while walking, without stopping operations, ideal indoors or on active sites. Drone LiDAR covers large outdoor areas quickly. Most mandates combine these methods.

Max point-level accuracy: Total station and GNSS
Active site, no shutdown: SLAM mobile scanning
Large outdoor areas: Drone LiDAR
Common approach: A combination of methods based on the site

Comparison

Three methods, three use cases

Total station and GNSS

When to use it: Control points, layout, boundaries, maximum accuracy on a limited number of points.
Strengths: The benchmark for point-level accuracy. Serves as the geodetic base for every other method.
Limitations: Slow over large areas or complex geometries.

SLAM mobile scanning

When to use it: Building interiors, active industrial sites, tunnels, parking structures, corridors.
Strengths: Captures data while walking, without stopping operations. Documents everything, including things you didn't think to measure.
Limitations: Lower overall accuracy than a total station: it's tied into the geodetic network through control points.

Drone LiDAR

When to use it: Large outdoor areas, rugged terrain, road corridors, hard-to-access sites.
Strengths: Fast coverage and a dense terrain model, even under light vegetation cover.
Limitations: Weather conditions, aviation regulations, and the need for ground control points.

In practice

What really decides it

Ask yourself these three questions before ordering a survey.

What tolerance?

A structural design and a terrain model don't require the same accuracy. Name the tolerance: it determines the method and the cost.

Does the site stay active?

If production or traffic can't be stopped, SLAM mobile scanning is generally the only realistic option.

What's the final deliverable?

Point cloud, CAD plan, model, contour lines: the expected deliverable influences the method just as much as the area does.

Choosing a technology: recurring questions

Does 3D scanning cost more?

Time on site is often shorter than an equivalent conventional survey, and you get a complete, reusable dataset for the entire project. On complex sites, it generally ends up cheaper than two separate visits.

Does your data work with our software?

We deliver in the formats of your design environment and can publish directly to a collaborative project platform. Just specify your formats when ordering.

Can several methods be combined on the same mandate?

Yes. In fact it's the norm on most of our mandates: for example, total station control points used to anchor a point cloud captured by SLAM mobile scanning or drone LiDAR.

We'll tell you which method your project needs

Describe the site and the accuracy required: we recommend the most efficient approach, not the most expensive.

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Next steps

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