I know the LiDAR scanner is used for face ID and detection, and also for scanning depth for camera focus etc, but I did not realise it can also be used for real 3D colour scans to very easily create 3D objects for games, CAD, or other uses. Using the 3d Scanner App (link below) it allows sharing via iMessage (in AR), OBJ, GLTF, GLB, STL, Point Cloud, Sketchfab, or DAE (for Sketchup). These objects are accurate enough to be true to scale and measurements.
The iPhone needs to have a LiDAR sensor for this to work, but any phone or computer can view the 3D image and allow you to zoom in, rotate, pan, etc. A good cross-platform app for this is MadView3D. Do a search "iphone lidar 3d scans" to see many example videos of what a scan looks like.
Yes you can do great 3D scans of someone's head too and then rotate them around etc (Harry Potter style). You can also use some formats to print the "object" out on a 3D printer. Many of these iOS apps charge subscriptions, but the one below seems to be completely free and pretty fully featured.
See
3d Scanner App™#
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3d Scan places and objects in color 3d. Requires a LIDAR camera sensor device, such as the iPad Pro or iPhone 12 Pro.
Easily share your 3d scans in iMessage & AR Quicklook using the USDZ format. Additionally export your scans in popular formats such as OBJ, GLTF, GLB, DAE, and STL.
Also export you…
