Developed by academics in robotics research at the University of Oxford, NavLive’s handheld lidar scanner, combined with edge AI processing, allows users to scan all buildings, generating precise site drawings in real time. Recently, the company secured £4m of funding to help transform the architecture and construction industry.
NavLive’s product started life as a PhD research project at Oxford University, but is now a fully-funded, commercial product used by architectural and construction firms in the UK and US. Its AI-powered handheld scanner helps architects, surveyors, developers, and construction firms to win clients faster with instant 2D/3D building models, RICS-grade 1:100 surveys, and direct Scan-to-BIM integration.
The company uses lidar technology and AI processing to streamline workflows from design through to construction. The scanner captures detailed point cloud data, high-resolution images, and automatically generates floor plans, elevations, and sections, for buildings of any shape or size, in minutes.
Combining laser scanning and AI processing
The NavLive Scanner combines a compact laser scanning system with onboard AI processing to generate detailed spatial data as the user moves through a building. The scanner continuously captures millions of 3D points per second using lidar, along with high-resolution images from three onboard cameras. AI algorithms process this data in real time to interpret architectural features such as walls, doors, and windows, and begin generating draft site drawings on the fly.
These AI-assisted interpretations are used to produce floor plans, elevations, and building sections, with noise and furniture automatically filtered out to provide clean, usable outputs. These site drawings and datasets are uploaded in real time to the user’s secure NavLive Portal account via the companion mobile app. Once scanning is complete, the full scan, including AI-generated plans, point clouds, and image walkthroughs, is immediately available in the cloud.
While scanning, the operator can view a live preview of the scan route and capture data on the mobile app, which provides real-time feedback and basic visualizations. Full scan outputs can then be explored in depth from any device via the web-based Portal, where team members can review floor plans, inspect 3D point clouds, measure areas, and export files in multiple formats such as PDF, DXF, E57, LAS, or PCD.
This end-to-end pipeline, from real-time scanning to instant cloud access, ensures that accurate site drawings and spatial context are always available to both field and office teams, within minutes of capture.
The added value of real-time scanning
The real-time availability of scans is a major advantage for teams working in fast-paced environments like architecture, construction, and facilities management. For the person scanning, it means they can confirm in real time that the necessary areas have been captured, reducing the risk of missed spaces and costly re-visits. Meanwhile, team members back at the office can begin reviewing floor plans, elevations, and point clouds as soon as the scan uploads, even while the surveyor is still on site.
This immediacy accelerates workflows like site assessments, project planning, and client reporting. It also supports soft landings by making clear, visual information available earlier in the project lifecycle. Ultimately, NavLive is helping to reduce time on site, eliminate bottlenecks, and keep teams aligned with live, actionable building data.
While Gaussian Splatting methods are becoming increasingly popular for visualizing data, current Gaussian Splatting algorithms still struggle to achieve high accuracy 3D reconstructions. In contrast, using the company’s current technology stack, NavLive achieves 10mm accuracy on its point cloud scans, which allows users to create precise building models from our scans.
Capturing, storing, and processing large point cloud data volumes
NavLive addressed the challenge of large point cloud data volumes through two key innovations: intelligent subsampling and on-device processing.
Rather than storing every point captured by the lidar, NavLive’s system performs real-time subsampling, selecting an optimized subset of points that preserves critical spatial detail while dramatically reducing file size. This results in high-quality, highly usable point clouds that are significantly smaller and faster to work with than traditional datasets.
Crucially, all this processing happens on the device itself. By minimizing the amount of data that needs to be uploaded to the cloud, NavLive can provide faster sync times, lower bandwidth usage, and a more responsive user experience. The result is an efficient workflow that supports real-time visualization and easy collaboration, without compromising on the accuracy required for professional architectural and construction applications.
Supporting the full lifecycle of building data
NavLive is designed to support the full lifecycle of building data, from design and construction through to operations and maintenance. The company aims to provide a spatial “record of truth” by making it fast and easy to capture, visualize, and export accurate 3D data at any point in a building’s lifecycle.
While NavLive is not a BIM platform by itself, the company is actively working toward real-time Scan-to-BIM automation. During the design phase, NavLive helps teams verify existing conditions rapidly. During construction, it enables frequent, low-effort progress capture. And post-completion, it provides valuable context for facilities management, maintenance, or retrofits.
NavLive makes all spatial data easy to export into standard CAD and BIM tools, including support for Autodesk formats, and is expanding integration with platforms like Trimble Connect and SketchUp to support a wide range of industry workflows. As an Autodesk Authorized Developer, NavLive’s goal is to make NavLive data flow smoothly into the tools professionals already use.