What is LiDAR? (& Why is It on Apple Devices All of a Sudden)

[@mekkler]

LiDAR is incredibly useful in showing foundation issues in houses where damage and instability occurs. Foundation repair companies really need to use this if they aren't already.

[@chloric9798]

I work in the construction industry and we use LIDAR to map construction sites in full 3D in order to verify and assess any changes or issues in our coordination in our BIM (Revit) models. It's actually amazing what this technology can do. We have mapped overheard work in 3D before the ceilings were installed and then have a peermanent 3D snapshot on the work that we can use to verify our insallation at any time afterwards without the need of removing ceiling tiles or sending guys into the field.

[@wkornfeld]

As someone in construction and often times needing basic measurements for reference points, calculating square footage, window sizing, etc, the new LIDAR is fantastic. I'm extremely excited about it coming out on their iphone in order to incorporate it into my workflow without the need for the 12.9" behemoth of an ipad scanning around the room.

[@thebritish910]

Omg, the decoder series is just quality. Love learning about tech, more than new product reviews. This series really differentiates the channel as so much more than a mere tech reviewer. Shows David has both a genuine interest and passion for tech. Again, really helpful and easy to understand guide. Nicely done sir!

[@TheUnlockr]

Thank you so much!! More coming ASAP 🙏🙏🙏

[@obidean3964]

When you mention the RaDAR and LiDAR, I was blown for a moment haha. Great explanation David 🔥

[@Willy_Tepes]

The explanation for the different capabilities is the wavelength, nothing else. He explained it wrong.

[@davidelliott5843]

@Robert Slackware Microwaves have a longer wavelength than (near) visible light. Resolution will not be so good though range should be longer.

[@TubelabCom]

LIDAR has been in use for about 20 years for writing speeding tickets. Since the beam used by the previous radar systems covered more than one car at the usual speed detection distance, it has been replaced with a LIDAR system in most jurisdictions. The LIDAR uses an infrared laser beam with a very low divergence this makes it easy to target a single car through the conventional optical sighting system in the same speed gun. This is one of the early uses that helped drive the development of low cost optical Time Of Flight sensor systems.

[@johnnyb357]

It's so when armed drones are sent out on kill missions, it can detect, lock and kill a target easy.

[@ramanadass1113]

I think LiDAR will eventually will let us calculate the correct body measurement for new shoes, attire etc This may be revolutionary in e-commerce industry Just my 2 cents

[@xpez9694]

you can do that with a camera. There is a measuring tool already.. but you are absolutely correct about a higher fidelity use of measurement to capture the entire form of the foot to find the exact shoe .

[@JSM-ij3gq]

I think your right. You easily can make a scan of yourself and use it as your own avatar to shop clothes online.

[@killik1]

@@JSM-ij3gq or u can use a mesureing tape that costs 1$

[@USBEN.]

That's actually practical.

[@Destroyer-of-wombs]

@@JSM-ij3gq hmmm

[@juga3816]

i think apple is implementing lidar in their iphones and iPads to collect some data for the upcoming apple glasses and make them work better in the beginning

[@jayantyadav4786]

Fpt

[@valentinklauss1732]

Think so too. Google Glass failed because of security concerns, nobody likes a camera on their face or sitting opposed to someone with a camera on their face. Lidar is more anonymous in that sense, and will probably therefore be used in apple Glasses

[@aRYANz88]

How could we better spy on customers? Apple: LIDAR

[@quantuminfinity4260]

@@aRYANz88 I mean, No? Apple has tons of problems, but they are by far the least Spy and track you Compared to any of the other large tech companies.

[@abil.sudarman]

yes

[@waltercalderon5762]

I did not know what exactly LiDar was, now I do! You learn something new everyday! I was just talking to my wife about possibly buying the 12 Pro Max and I explained the LiDar sensor and showed her some videos of how it works, thanks David.

[@vishansingh7641]

Ah yes lidar; for when I want to scan an item from my competitor so I can send it quickly to have it 3d printed in a sweat shop

[@Thetechchap]

Super helpful David - awesome video!

[@mobilearena2023]

😀

[@sylviadmello5607]

How do you find it in XS ?

[@gingerelvira6587]

Feature without a purpose

[@wisdomforpeace4974]

I'm also ur subscriber

[@freddybell8328]

It seems as if the point method for Apples lidar is lower in resolution than a traditional tof system

[@pwramirez]

With the release of LiDAR on the iPhone 12, your thoughts about "Why?" in consumer electronics became clear to me. My wife and I are in the beginning stages of renovations, and having something that will give me accurate measurements would be incredibly helpful! Thanks for the info!

[@MikeTrieu]

Uh, don't rely on this LiDAR for accurate measurements. It's at least off by +/-2cm. The resolution of the sensor is very low. It's using dot-projection flash LiDAR, not the laser beam steering ones that are much higher res.

[@travislupum]

It's also mapping your home and environment even when your not using it it's super cool until you own night vision and see how often it just randomly starts mapping out your home and what not

[@andreaunarte8456]

By far the best explanation of LiDAR, unlike other videos that are trying so hard to "sound smart", only to end up effortlessly overcomplicating the concept!

[@qui3tstorm793]

This, this is going to change the D pic game completely.

[@Destroyer-of-wombs]

Oh yea, now ya get cave pics and slide the models together

[@TDAmeritrader]

Bezos approves ...

[@aaronfloyd14]

Dang this was a really good video. Perfect amount of time, honest, high quality. Thank you!!

[@traceybaldwin6509]

First time hearing it, I thought it was for detecting liars.

[@andrewralte4844]

Hahaha fair enough.

[@webgpu]

ba dum tssss

[@zilverheart]

Make this best comment pls

[@thothheartmaat2833]

Do iphones have gaydar yet?

[@traceybaldwin6509]

ThothHeartMaat lol..you get why I said lidar sounds like a lie detector app.

[@Texas_Swift]

I have mine arriving tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what I can do with the LiDAR and AR for my landscaping work. It’s going to be so much easier instead of taking pictures, uploading them to a laptop, then using a separate $1500 software to create renderings. I can get it all done without having to go back to my office or carry around a laptop with me.

[@gregsimmons1709]

Great explanation! I’m keen to see this getting used in the iPhone cameras so that a whole scene can be captured in focus (high aperture) with the LIDAR information stored in metadata. An area of the shot can then be ‘focused’ on in post-production, using the LIDAR information to determine how much blurring to apply to the rest of the pic based on how far away different things are. It might also be a useful aid to the visually impaired...

[@ybllns]

great comment thanks

[@antonioruizbroadcast]

Simple and straight to the point explanation, great job!

[@tpolerex7282]

I see this being super helpful to me with CAD and architectural work especially with establishing existing conditions.

[@QUARTERMASTEREMI6]

Yeah, I studied industrial design for a short time and that'd be super helpful!

[@leonmilner9994]

Magicplan's use of it seems sweet. Using LiDar to measure spaces for floor plans. Realtors and architects, painters, estimators, contractors, etc need this. Energy modellers and HVAC people also need volume measurements. (And they do air flows calcs for rooms etc. Like in Wrightsoft software). Pair it with those fancy FLIR sensors, and some AI energy modelling like lightspark, could be pretty cool!

[@Icyangel10]

I came here due to a gmod game mode mod called lidar were you're surrounded by darkness & using a lidar gun to make scenery appear. I'm glad I stumbled onto this cause it explained a lot & I now know what's getting used in certain cars. Learning something new everyday I guess.

[@RazartheRaven]

NICE, The more you know, I really couldn't tell the difference since the use case is the same

[@torontovacation8294]

I like how accurately you explain things. You gave me answers to all of my questions regarding LiDAR and ToF. Thanks 😊

[@nerovanguard846]

This is the first time I've seen this explanation. It's so thorough I feel I'm smarter haha About LiDar, I think an awesome usage for it is in gaming and productivity. Imagine battling is a shooter like game but with real environments and your device shows yours enemies using LiDar. It even interacts with the environment like if it's raining or actively hides behind a corner I can also see architects, engineers, artists or even film makers make use of this technology but obviously, it needs to mature a lot more

[@AchiragChiragg]

The PS Vita had a game similar to what you just described.

[@timsonss]

@@AchiragChiragg what is the name of the game

[@Not_Vladimir_Putin]

Great idea to use Nest camera to demonstrate IR differences. Very helpful. Thanks

[@knastera]

Thank you for making this understandable in a reasonable amount of time.

[@youricircle]

Very well explained!

[@ChildOL]

This is all in preparation for Apple's AR Glasses which will change the industry again like iPhone has.

[@whatfreedom7]

If only my I phone 11 pro would actually work correctly. It’s always freezing,locking up,not loading,unresponsive screen. Total piece of junk.

[@ChildOL]

@@whatfreedom7 Uhh, I would take it back and get a replacement unit especially if after restoring it doesn't fix it. I don't think I have ever had all those problems with a recent iPhone before.

[@whatfreedom7]

@@Ufyihccvn keep it. My 7 was a way better phone than this POS.

[@strawhatsgear5th]

@@whatfreedom7 iPhones never lag I think you have a bad Unit. Ask apple for a replacement bro.

[@whatfreedom7]

@@strawhatsgear5th yeah my 7 and 4s were awesome and I could have 20 pages open and numerous applications open and it never phased it. This one I’ve noticed if I have a map app open it boggs downwind I have to close it and sometimes close my other applications. I think something was wrong from the get go.

[@stephenholtzhausen9514]

LiDAR in this case would be very handy for 3D Editors using Photogrammetry. A single ToF sensor would not suffice and the amount of actual stills you need to take with a standard camera is just a pain. So LiDAR helps. That being said, range and resolution will improve as it is still "meh" to say the least. We (where I work) also use this in surveillance applications for object type detection to minimize false alarms.

[@MrNpkellogg]

this is exactly what I expected this type of technology. Other videos show Chinese usage of face detection with 5G tech...and I suspect there is a connection; I would expect to see more use of it the future. Forgive my paranoia, but we seem to be losing more and more of our freedoms, and that kind of stuff makes me suspicious. Thank you for your comment.

[@onlyias6504]

The comparison made it crystal clear.

[@baderalafghani4564]

It’s very important for 3D scanning if you are in the 3D printing world

[@KyleCowden]

Ha! We used an XBox sensor interfaced to an iPad for doing our tactical maps in a GIS course. Walking around a room in a pattern, sweeping that stupid bar up and down. I think that world just got a lot easier.

[@flagship1701e]

BEST video found on Apple's LIDAR and LIDAR in general. Very well done.

[@jamesyeechunfung1432]

Awesome, thank you for explaining what LiDar is about.

[@jeremywitt5999]

Nice job with the visual demonstration! This has so many possibilities in my field of work... I've always been opposed to iPhones, but this actually makes me consider it. But then again, if iPhone has it now, Samsung will have something better in less than a year.

[@kinjudon8543]

Liked your way of showing IR rays from smartphones using NEST. It gave me a real sense of what could it look like.

[@AlejandroMaagno]

LiDAR will play a huge role in the future 3-5 years.

[@sn3blackstar]

Already does me

[@aRYANz88]

Yes the government is going to love all the idiots scanning their homes.

[@DRKK-ng4xv]

Yes!!!

[@pushkarrathod1698]

Thanks for giving clear picture between LiDAR & RaDAR and thanks for sharing !!

[@sacredgeometry]

4:32 "not sitting around using AR all day." Clearly you missed that whole Pokemon go thing.

[@theshon811]

Scanning environments wit your phone is pretty insane. In he eye of a regular consumer , this wont affect much but in my field of work this feature is crazy cool and makes environement scanning a waaaay easier process and cheaper too!

[@RichardSennoga]

A great video. A useful addition to the knowledge and understanding of basic remote sensing.

[@spencerselph1289]

Great video, I am a drone operator for Florida Power and Light and my company has plans to add LiDAR to our list of services, and I’m clueless. Helped a lot💪🏽

I remember to use my LG G4 with a fast focus because of the tiny infrared light. Now with many dots technology, just put on Drones already and use like "pups" from Prometheus movie

[@vikasthigulla2787]

Wooah!! Brother thank you for explaining in detail... looking forward to your next videos✌️

[@daniellee6285]

My wife and I are watching Naruto for the first time.. we’re on itachi’s back story 😅

[@lian5508]

it’s totally different technology from other android phones, Apple is called dtof based on the sensor called SPAD and android is called it itof, based on common CMOS image sensor. Dtof is the next generation of itof, its performances much much better than itof, but dtof is very a complicated technology, it’s hard to do,especially when it embedded into the smart phone.

[@themoreofless]

Useful video in decision making

[@HopscotchInteractive]

badass test with the Nest cam that was unexpected!

[@eyeorigins77]

Ah, so that's why animals seem to be reacting to the ar, it's because some of them can see infra red, they're reacting to the light

[@sunnydayz9032]

@Dan H just because they can see what you can’t doesn’t necessarily mean its harmful to them

[@subjord]

@Dan H It's probably as harmful as using the flash on the phone. It's basically a light source, but we can't see it. Of cause it can distract some animals that don't like light or attract other animals that like light, just like a lamp.

[@funnyberries4017]

@Dan H I haven’t thought about this. I guess, if all the cars were shooting out IR lights it could affect a lot of birds and insects in a negative way. More light pollution. Hmmmmm, great question!

[@funnyberries4017]

@Robert Slackware lol little martyrs taking one for the team

[@jonathonlove9597]

Yeah you rock. You did a great job explaining everything. You were clear and easy to understand. The video was a perfect length with no long intro. I don’t know anything about the kind of content you usually talk about but you showed up on my feed and I’ll hit the subscribe button. Hope to learn more from you in the near future.

[@snakeradish]

I think it’s a cool technology to have on a handheld device. One thing I know for sure though is it makes my phone warm and gulps the battery. Must be an enormous amount of calculations.

[@ChrisAwake]

Thank you that was very informative! :)

[@TheUnlockr]

Thank you!

[@bradford-vts]

Simply amazing. Super explanations. Still can’t see how me personally am going to use LIDAR on my phone! Any idea of what AR apps might come out that I might find helpful and make my life easier?

[@KISHORENEDUMARAN]

so basically is Face ID tech for back camera.. Great video, especially with showing the projection with night vision :)

[@ulli-s]

Thanks for the video. I rarely use the measuring app too, because it isn't acurate enough. If that was changed through the adding of a LIDAR sensor, i might use it alle the time :)

[@Whirlowdale]

Great thanks - first sensible explanation I’ve seen thanks.

[@gauravverma9102]

Sir, you are awesome ... Love from India.. easy to understand the complex technology

[@ZaneEckols]

If there’s a bunch of autonomous cars out there with LiDAR then do you think the lights could interfere and they could get confused? Something to think about

[@eddied.8361]

Thanks for clearing that up much appreciated 👍🏾💯🙏

[@myyou7335]

We have talked about LiDar for forest density mapping / farm health mapping.

[@2009Bowiefan]

Thanks for an informative video. As a photographer, I have been excited on hearing about Time Of Flight and Lidar in new phones. But now I am in doubt: is it really not being used for faster autofocus?? That would seem to be a blindingly obvious application...

[@gil3289]

i heard: better auto focus in "low light" environment.

[@2009Bowiefan]

@@gil3289, thank you.

[@tomtd]

I measure every day, I make surveys for bespoke items, I look forward to apps utilising this technology. Imagine surveying a room to mm accuracy in a few moments, or picturing parts with dimensions, fantastic

[@IbascoRealtyGroup]

Great explanation on LiDAR…

[@TheUnlockr]

Thank you!

[@mikemiles3068]

Good video❗️at least I know what I have even if I don’t know what to use it for and you forgot to tell us where is the on and off switch 🤔

[@FloatingOnAZephyr]

AR is one of those technologies that simply will be part of our lives in the future. When and precisely how is to be determined, but the technology only develops by putting the the hardware in people's pockets. LiDAR allows this stuff to get way more accurate, and accuracy/speed is a big reason AR bores people rn. Couple hugely greater speed and accuracy with things like the U chips in the latest iPhones, and you can get features like being able to just point an iPhone at your couch and see your keys under the cushions, get good AR directions when walking around a city that don't wobble around on the screen and look gimmicky, etc.

[@mohammedjina7300]

Great video of explanation and demonstration of lidar, radar and time of flight. Nice one👍

[@IARRCSim]

How does the iPhone 12 Pro's LiDAR sensor compare with the Microsoft Kinect? The video talks about differentiating reflected dots from the original dots but normally this won't be a problem for LiDAR. LiDAR points 1 laser in 1 direction at any given time and the reflection is timed in nanoseconds, many orders of speed faster than any mechanical movement of optics so merely detecting a reflection in the single direction the laser is pointed is enough to get the desired signal and filter out any noise from other directions. Scattering light in multiple directions at exactly the same time is what Microsoft's Kinect does but that's not considered LiDAR as it works very differently. Microsoft Kinect doesn't time reflections at all. Instead, Kinect works more like 3D reconstruction of stereoscopic camera images. Kinect projects a point pattern to make the 3D reconstruction more efficient and accurate.

[@territattan5251]

Superb demo. Thanks.

[@TEAM6USA]

Is Lidar used on Roomba robots also? I know "they" supposed to take measurements/dimensions of your home without your knowledge.

[@funnyberries4017]

I doubt it. Lidar is expensive tech.

[@TEAM6USA]

@@funnyberries4017 if they are putting on iphones, so I am sure they can put on 800 bucks vacuum cleaners too. The ones used on drones for land surveys have way more powerful scanners and some cost about +60k to 150k

[@hckyrules]

Room a uses vSLAM. Roomba seems to hate lidar for certain security concerns.

[@WStar4Life]

I think it’s going to be best for AR gaming on a mobile device. That’s probably all I’ll ever use it for

[@jessicaarverne1181]

There was one Lidar on a Google Tango project smartphone in 2016 but was abandoned rapidly.

[@darylcheshire1618]

Interestd in experimenting, my plan is to capture the point cloud with Sitescape and export to CloudCcompare on my PC. One interesting thing is points can be measured such as furniture and doorways. I watched an interesting video where a surveyer compared the iphone point cloud to the output of a total station and was blown away by the small differences in accuracy.

[@raffeerahd9977]

It goes straight from my head..

[@monikabryant5313]

Thanks for the detailed information.

[@ferrydaddy]

Thank you for a video on LiDar.

[@d1rtyduckmusic]

Hmm I'm a big fan of AR and I actually use it quite regularly. But to be honest there's so much more potential to it. But I guess lidar will although be used to improve the camera, so stuff like portraitmode, should get be much better with this sensor, especially with non-human/animal objects.

[@snowjoe43]

Excellent video David! Keep up the good work.

[@ElmerShox]

nice thanks for this LiDAR apple series! great tool

[@KamleshDesai]

Sharp and quick. Thanks.

[@melgross]

Also focusing in dim light which is something Apple is using it for. How often is that used? A lot, indoors, or outdoors in the evening. Faster, more accurate focus is always desirable.

[@blsimba64]

Thank you David, you made it so much easier to understand! Enjoy your video! 👍

[@flix4u]

Thanks 4 the LIDAR primer.

[@stephenschulte3996]

Excellent short, factual and to the point video on LiDAR! Thanks! I’ll be searching for more of your videos!! Steve on Thursday 22 October 2020

[@chichi6808]

Hello Steve

[@atribecalledjudah5436]

Just another way for the NSA to map your home and belongings.

[@GreezMode]

100% bro, I hate how excited people get about having their lives fully invaded

[@lxuis419]

Is that a joke?

[@daton3630]

@@lxuis419 could be

[@sassybear6046]

@@GreezMode but does it really matter even if it were true? It affects no one unless you are doing illegal things imo

[@ericbauer4897]

@@sassybear6046 that’s similar to “the peeping Tom can look through my window, I’m not doing anything explicit”. Also, with all the laws on the books, and there’s a lot of obscure ones, you could literally be breaking laws all day and not be aware of it. Thinking like that is part of the problem.

[@ml8018]

Lidar and Radar both use light. Just at different wavelength. Lidar uses infrared and Radar uses radio.

[@johnfrederickudtujan8337]

Just read this: LiDAR Scanning vs. Scannerless 3D ToF A LiDAR scanner and 3D time-of-flight sensor, at their core, are the same thing. Both are laser-based sensors that use the time of flight to determine distances of faraway objects. Using infrared (IR) lasers, they measure the time it takes for light to bounce from objects in the captured environment. With sophisticated algorithms, these sensors can help create a 3D point cloud of the surrounding area. Your smartphone can then relay the information to first- and third-party apps. That data can help better determine the depth of field in photos, for one example. Another one? It helps create a more accurate, immersive AR experience, which places and manages artificial objects in whatever real-world scenery the camera lens is pointing at.

[@intermanhattan]

Great video! Well done! Thank you!

[@simpleyyblack]

Simple explanation. Thanks.

[@3DCGdesign]

Just because we don't use it, need it, or can't find a practical use for it in our personal life doesn't mean it's "not a big deal". This is massive for those of us in the CG/3D modeling world, architecture, real estate, etc. - not to mention a thousand other applications. It can not be over-stated how huge this is. When logic system mathematics was invented, it was before computers were invented. Other mathematicians didn't see much value in it at the time, or have use for it. Then when the computer was invented, that logic math became fundamental to programming and to the possibility of the internet itself. So beware dismissing things that you "don't have a use for". One's lack of imagination has no bearing on something's worth.

[@techanddesignnikhil]

super precise and super easy to understand......thanks for this piece of knowledge

[@kameleonyaya8803]

I love the explanation😍 You got a subs😊

[@DaniloMicali]

That was an awesome video! Didactic, straightforward and informative! Thanks!

[@TheUnlockr]

🙏🙏🙏

[@canlu8570]

it's not LIDAR. it is IR camera image measurement base using IR light. it's not acuurate but it's just work

[@Loyal-Ro]

Thank you sir for that awesome info! As always profi and detailed.

[@6666shashank]

Can LIDAR on iPhone 12 be used to scan objects for 3d models?

[@Inkling777]

I'd be more impressed in those designing smartphones and tablets included software-defined radio (SDR) chips to make them world-ready radio and digital TV receivers.

[@ozgurhacibektasoglu]

What about 3D modeling? Can lidar be used to 3d modeling of an item. If that works it is completely a new era. You can 3d print an object easily if you can scan it precise enough

[@revico9353]

As an architecture student this is helpfull, but only for pro models :(

[@gerardi2000]

Great explanation! I've never heard of it.