The Democratization of Professional Surveying is Here

Is mobile scanning the new standard for professional surveying? In this episode, we sit down with Andrey Kleymanov, CEO of Pix4D, to discuss the massive shift occurring in the reality capture industry.

We dive deep into the skepticism surrounding mobile mapping—comparing it to the early days of drone adoption—and exploring how tools like PIX4Dcatch and iPhone LiDAR are democratizing the industry. Andrej explains why "Gaussian Splatting" is more than just a buzzword, how Pix4D remains hardware-agnostic (partnering with Emlid, Leica, Trimble), and why 95% of their mobile users choose iPhone over Android.

Whether you are a seasoned surveyor or new to 3D modeling, this conversation reveals where the future of digital construction and geospatial data is heading.

🚀 Key Topics Covered:

Drones vs. Phones: Why the skepticism around mobile scanning mirrors the early drone industry.

The "Pocket" Power: How consumer devices are achieving professional-grade accuracy.

Gaussian Splatting: Moving beyond visualization to accurate 3D mesh generation.

Hardware Agnosticism: Integrating with Emlid, Leica, and Trimble workflows.

The Future of Jobs: How "democratizing" survey tools allows professionals to scale their business.

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro: Meet Andrej Kalmanov (CEO of Pix4D)


02:55 - The Skepticism: Are phones the new drones?


03:45 - The Power in Your Pocket: Mobile vs. Conventional Tools


09:54 - Bringing complex tech to the "Everyday User"


11:30 - Hardware Partners: Emlid, Leica, Trimble & more


13:35 - Will this take jobs away from surveyors?


16:13 - Gaussian Splatting: Buzzword or Standard?


20:47 - The rapid adoption of iPhone LiDAR scanning


23:17 - Why Pix4D users prefer iPhone over Android (95% share)