BenFromCanvas

On 8/25/2023 at 8:42 AM, HaleyBCC said:

@BenFromCanvas Are free trial offers still available?

 

Yes! Please email our onboarding team at hello@canvas.io and tell them you heard about us in the Chief Architect forums. They'll lead a 1:1 demo and provide a code for a free scan.

16 hours ago, sr5844wp said:

Even though it's a total bummer for me, your team is making a wise choice by staying focused on iOS.

 

I purchased an iPhone and am on day 7 of their 14 day return policy, so I'm still deciding on if it's worth the investment.

If you'd like to try our Scan To CAD service while you've still got the phone, please send me a DM or email me at ben@canvas.io and I can give you a code so you can try it for free!

17 hours ago, sr5844wp said:

Once you support Android devices, Canvas is surely going to blow up!

 

Team Android people like me don't want to buy an iPhone or iPad. However, I'm more than willing to upgrade my phone to a Galaxy S21+ or Ultra just to have Canvas.

 

Hoping to hear an ETA on an Android debut.

1 hour ago, Jason-Janacek said:

I'm thinking Canvas won't spend much time developing for Android since Samsung isn't pursuing Lidar as of April of this year.

https://www.laserfocusworld.com/blogs/article/14205758/samsung-abandons-lidar-sensors-in-phones

 

Totally understand that! Unfortunately, there are very few Android devices which support LiDAR (the embedded sensor Canvas needs to deliver 99% accuracy), and it increasingly looks like Android manufacturers are moving away from it even as Apple adds it to more devices. We're continuing to monitor the market, but the lack of compatible Android devices means we've had to focus on supporting iOS for the time being.

If you think that Canvas could save you significant time on your as-builts, I'd recommend borrowing an iPad Pro to see if it works for you. Depending on the volume of as-builts you create, a $799 investment in an iPad Pro could pay for itself within a few weeks.

12 hours ago, Jason-Janacek said:

I would love to get the promo code for the scan to CAD output in Chief Architect. 

 

Please send to jason@janacekremodeling.com

 

Thank you

Just sent you it via DM.

For anyone else reading this thread, I did want to note that while we're still offering a promo code to try Canvas's Scan To CAD service, we've changed our pricing model since I made my initial post. Instead of charging on a "per scan" basis, we now charge by the square foot - $0.15/square foot (referring to the floor area, not the square footage of scanned walls, etc).

If you're interested in trying Canvas's Scan To CAD service, I'm able to share a code for $30 off your first use, which will cover 200 square feet.

On 6/13/2021 at 1:53 PM, TKInteriors said:

Can point cloud data scanned using a DPI 10, D455 (intel realsense) or l515 (intel realsense) be submitted to Canvas?  Post processing is done in DotProducts DOT3D Pro. 

My apologies for not replying sooner, I'm just seeing this now.

Canvas's Scan To CAD service only works on scans captured by the Canvas app itself. Our process relies on data captured with the app, so at this time, we're unable to process any point cloud or 3D mesh data captured with other devices/platforms.

9 hours ago, jasonn1234 said:

I'd be interested in this if it was cost effective. Currently I use a bosch laser measurer with their free software. It takes me about an hour to do one level. If I could roam around instead of beep around (and have to draw the walls), it seems like it would be worthwhile. Some measurements are critical for code though. I need to know the furnace door is 34", not 33.45678" same with hallways, posts. a 5' bathtub does not fit into 57"

 

with the bosch I have to take some auxillary measurements for posts, clearance of furnace, etc. I would assume I would need to do the same thing with this software?

 

 

Thanks for your questions. In terms of cost effectiveness, we charge $0.15/square foot for Chief Architect files. So, a 2,000 square foot home would cost $300.

Accuracy is about 99% - you can read about that here. However, you do have the ability to supplement the scan with laser measure readings for critical measurements by emailing our support team after submitting your scan to Scan To CAD - you can read more about that process here.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

21 hours ago, MikeD56 said:

Where are you on the Android version?

Hi Mike,

We are still working on it and don't have an updated ETA. It is important to note that currently there are only a few Android devices that have a depth sensor (known as a Time of Flight sensor in the Android world) - the Galaxy S20+ and S20 Ultra. Canvas's 98-99% accuracy depends on using a depth sensor, such as Apple's LiDAR sensors on the iPad Pro and iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max. To properly set your expectations, unless you own an Android device with a ToF sensor, accuracy will be closer to 95%. 

If you are interested in using Canvas in your professional workflow, we strongly recommend investing in a LiDAR-equipped Apple device. 

Best,

Ben

I wanted to share a case study we just completed with Thornton Weiler, an architect in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thornton uses Canvas's Scan To CAD service to create Chief Architect as-builts. He credits Canvas with driving a 25% increase in revenue, increasing his schematic design profit by $1,500 - $2,000 per project, and saving about 14 hours in labor per project. 

Please reach out to me at ben@canvas.io if you're interested in trying it out for yourself. I'm happy to share a code for up to $30 off your first Scan To CAD order, which will cover 200 square feet.

Canvas - Thornton Weiler Case Study.pdf

On 3/16/2021 at 10:37 PM, TennVol said:

Getting ready to send in some rooms on an as-built now that they've revised their pricing structure. From what I understand, it will be a flat 15 cents per square foot, rather than $39/scan + $5 per for stitching together. Will be 2 floors with connecting stairs. Should be interesting to see how well it fits. I took some overall manual dimensions to help Canvas dial it in. I was there about 1.5 hours between scanning rooms and doing some "backup" measurements just to be safe. We'll see...

Congrats on your first scan. And thanks for bringing up our revised pricing structure. Most of our customers are used to thinking in square feet, so if you know you're going to be scanning a 2,000 square feet house, it's easy to calculate the cost of your Scan To CAD order (2,000 x $0.15 = $300).

Please share your experience with the community. And don't hesitate to reach out if I can be of help in any way!

On 3/16/2021 at 7:01 PM, nVisionTEKBIM said:

I'm very interested in this! I switched to using HOVER to get most of my exterior measurements, which really saves me time, but so far there's been no high-tech affordable method for getting the interior done without manually measuring. I would be super interested in trying CANVAS if it could also do exteriors. HOVER has been nice since it gets roof slopes, overhangs, ect. I just use those measurements in combination with my interior measurements to draw as-builts. It'd be super cool to have CANVAS deliver me a 3D model of the as-built with just 30-90 minutes of walking around with a tablet.

 

 

I'm glad you're interested! Send me a PM on the board or send me an email at ben@canvas.io and I can share a code with you for a free scan. I do want to let you know that it'll likely take way less than 90 minutes, unless you're scanning an enormous home.

While Canvas isn't designed to scan exteriors, we do have customers who do it. The caveat is that the range of the LiDAR sensor is about 15 feet, so you'll encounter challenges scanning anything above the first story of a building. Here's more information from our FAQ about using Canvas outdoors. 

29 minutes ago, rgardner said:

That’s very common with the auto created floor plans with scanning software.  Same problem with matterport files too.  That’s why I don’t like to use them.  I have gotten five different ones from matterport canvas and another one I don’t remember the name of and every one had major mistakes like this.

I'm sorry to hear you had issues with your Canvas scan! That certainly shouldn't happen -- it's possible we weren't able to recognize the door properly due to it not being captured fully in the scan, the door being opened in the middle of scanning it, or something else. Hard to say, but I'd absolutely be happy to look into it for you because I wouldn't want you to walk away with the feeling that that just happens 

Feel free to message me privately, email me at ben@canvas.io, or engage here if you'd like to discuss the errors in your Chief Architect file.

45 minutes ago, jtcapa1 said:

I've seen other recent software measuring tools that incorporate inputting on the fly measurements while you take those Lidar images.  See the new Houzz Pro 3d App

That would put those critical measurements into the scan, saving time and money on your end.

 

Question:  Is there another device one could buy that is not an iPad or iPhone?  Some kind of handheld Lidar attachment?

Thank you for the suggestion about incorporating critical measurements during the scanning process. We are already working on implementing an easier method to add manual measurements, but seeing your comment helps validate our decision to do so.

At this point, we don't support devices other than iPads and iPhones, but are working on supporting Android devices.

On 11/14/2020 at 2:40 PM, Kbird1 said:

 

And for those of us who will never use an Iphone or Ipad?    ie an Andriod App when?

 

(or Windows? not sure how the Tech works...or Data from a Leica Disto 7500i for eg.) 

 

M. 

We actually are already working on bringing our tech to Android! We don't have an exact ETA to share, but that's the next step for us in terms of platform. We also do have plans to incorporate laser distance meter measurements as a means of augmenting the flow I described above for adding critical dimensions: https://support.canvas.io/article/198-how-to-submit-manual-dimensions-to-canvas.

We have many customers who are Windows users - they use Chief Architect (or one of our other output formats) on that platform, but have purchased the $799 iPad Pro for scanning, as they find that it's a relatively small upfront investment in terms of ROI for the amount of time they save measuring and building the as-built models. 

5 hours ago, rgardner said:

Isn't that kind of a high accuracy difference?  Thats almost 5" off in 20'... Which is not unrealistic to have a larger room in a larger home Master bedroom or Great room.  Matterport boasts a max of 1% and that is alot in some cases which is why I require a hover.to scan in addition to a matterport for as-builts if I am doing them for one of my contractors.

Totally fair to call out that that kind of tolerance won't work for every project and use case. Like any other tool, 3D capture has uses where it's a game-changer on its own, uses where it needs a bit of help, and uses where it's not the right fit at all. For example, if you're ordering and installing custom cabinetry and have a super tight (1/16") tolerance, you're probably going to want to take those measurements manually. But that would be true of most 3D scanning solutions outside of the super-high-end tripod scanners, usually in the $5K or even $10K+ range, and usually, they take hours more to complete the scan.

Hover is actually about a 5% tolerance, according to their FAQs: https://help.hover.to/en/articles/392328-how-accurate-are-the-measurements. This matches with what you'd generally expect from Canvas *without LiDAR* too (as the app does support non-LiDAR iPhones going back to the iPhone 7). 

We actually have a flow where you can submit any critical dimensions with your scan and we'll match it in your Scan To CAD result in Chief Architect: https://support.canvas.io/article/198-how-to-submit-manual-dimensions-to-canvas. In this way, you're always getting comparable accuracy to what you would've gotten the old-fashioned way for the measurements that really require it, and leveraging the time-saving benefits of 3D scanning for everything else. 

Another common workflow we see within design-build and remodeling firms is to use Canvas to scan the whole home (and convert to Chief or another output) on the initial visit, and then update the measurements in the CAD model over time as the project progresses. Doing a full site survey and 3D model (manually) that early in a project is often far too time-consuming to justify, especially when the project scope is not yet defined and you might not even know what you need to capture. But having that 3D model early on means you can engage the client about design choices and plans weeks earlier than you otherwise would (and 3D scanning means you capture everything, not just what you think you need).

You might be interested in this case study from Lotus Construction Group about their workflow.

All in all, we really try to focus on two things: being blazing-fast (scanning a room takes about a minute) and bridging to the tools and workflows people use to get their job done (like Chief Architect). Accuracy will only get better as it becomes cheaper and cheaper to integrate higher-quality sensors and the technology keeps improving. It wasn't that long ago that even 1% cost $50K and took a full day of scanning time and another few days of painstakingly tracing a point cloud. Now it fits in your pocket!

5 minutes ago, Chopsaw said:

 

Sounds great Ben.  Could you expand on the level of accuracy of your system as I think that is the key factor for Chief Architect users.  Thanks.

Thanks for the question! You can read more about accuracy here.

But, here’s the short answer: If you are using Canvas with a LiDAR-enabled iPad or iPhone (includes most Pro models launched since 2020), most measurements should be within 1-2% of what's verified manually with a tape measure, laser distance meter, or existing blueprint. 

Hi,

I'm Ben with Canvas. Canvas is an app that turns your iPad or iPhone into a power tool: you can scan rooms in seconds, entire homes in minutes, and capture every measurement in a space. You immediately get an accurate 3D model of the space on your device that you can refer to anytime, share with others, and get any measurement on demand. Remodelers and architects renovating existing spaces can then use our Scan To CAD service to get design-ready, professional-grade, and editable files in two business days. Our existing customers call this "the easy button" for creating as-builts.

I'm posting here because we just launched support for Chief Architect and are eager to see what Chief Architect users are going to do with it! For that reason, I'm offering promo codes for a complimentary Scan To CAD output to Chief Architect, which is a $39 value. You'll receive: 

• 3D .plan file of the room
• 3D .dwg file
• 3d. dae file
• and reprocessing, which colorizes your scan

If you have a LiDAR-equipped iPad Pro (released in March 2020) or a new iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 12 Pro Max, please comment or send me a direct message with your email address and I'll send you a code. We're hoping you'll share your experience with the forum!

Download Canvas for iPad or Canvas for iPhone.