XGRIDS, best known for its professional 3D scanning hardware, is pitching its LCC Scan app as a way to turn an ordinary phone into a 3D capture camera.

The idea is simple. Rather than taking a photo or a video, you walk around your subject while the app records it, and LCC Scan reconstructs it as an interactive, photorealistic 3D scene that you can move around afterwards. XGRIDS says a typical capture takes about a minute, and the reconstruction happens locally on the device, with no specialist scanning hardware, photogrammetry know-how or cloud upload needed.

XGRIDS suggests using it to capture things you want to revisit spatially rather than as a flat image: a childhood bedroom before moving out, a grandparent’s living room, a sculpture or collectible, a pet in its favourite spot, a handmade gift, or a place from a trip.

The app is built on Gaussian splatting, the 3D reconstruction technique that has moved rapidly from research labs into professional workflows over the last couple of years. It produces far more realistic results than traditional photogrammetry, especially with reflections and fine detail such as fur and foliage, and XGRIDS already uses it in its Lixel scanners and LCC Studio software.

For photographers, it’s an interesting new way of recording a subject. A 3D capture won’t replace a well-composed photograph, but as a way of documenting a space or object it adds something a still image can’t. We’d like to see how well the on-device processing copes with tricky subjects such as moving pets and low light, and we’ll be putting it to the test.

XGRIDS LCC Scan key features

XGRIDS LCC Scan price and availability

LCC Scan is listed as a free app on the Apple App Store.