Kaarta Launches Handheld Lidar Scanner Contour

At SPAR 3D, Kaarta was on hand for the launch of its newest handheld lidar scanner, the Contour. The device integrates a +/- 3 cm lidar sensor, IMU, camera, battery, and a touch screen into a small form factor to enable “decision-making at the point of work.”

The device is built around the Kaarta engine, a mapping and localization algorithm that processes sensor data and displays the results in real-time on the touch screen. The touch screen also enables users to pause, rewind, and rotate the model in progress as necessary to spot check their work in the field.

“That real-time aspect is important,” Kaarta CEO Kevin Dowling told SPAR 3D, “because you can see if you missed an area and not have to go back later—those call-backs are what people hate.”

Another benefit of the Kaarta engine is speed. The company says that Contour can be used to scan a typical 10,000 square metre building in about 2.5 hours.

Kaarta’s engine, like many SLAM algorithms, enables mapping in areas where GPS coverage is denied. But it also enables some unique workflows that exploit multiple means of capture.

Kaarta is an algorithm company that integrates hardware offered by other vendors. This means that as the hardware available on the market advances, Kaarta’s products will advance with them. “As the lidars improve, as the processing improves, as the batteries improve,” Dowling says, “everything will just get better. In fact, we believe this sort of form factor will make the trolley and backpack obsolete some day.”

First units are shipping to customers during April.