Guides & videos
Tools — measuring with LiDAR
In short: your iPhone replaces the rangefinder, the tree caliper and the clinometer. Two tools, one aim, one value displayed in large type.
At the top of the screen, a dashboard shows your position and your heading. Then two buttons.
Distance
Tap Distance. The camera opens. Aim at what you want to measure: the value is displayed in large type, along with the Azimuth and the Inclination.
A false-colour view shows the depth perceived by the sensor — from blue (near) to red (far). It helps you check that the sensor really "sees" your target, and not foliage in the foreground.
Common uses: distance to a tree, width of an access road, clearance available for felling, height of a roadside timber stack.
Diameter and height
Tap Diameter and height, then choose the mode.
Diameter mode
Aim at the trunk at breast height. The app reconstructs the shape of the trunk from the measured depth: it fits a cylinder and displays its diameter.
While it computes, the screen shows "Cylinder reconstruction in progress...". The value settles within a second or two: it is filtered so it does not jump with every frame.
Calibrate once against your caliper. Measure a few trees with both instruments. If the app consistently overestimates or underestimates, correct the difference in Settings ▸ Tools ▸ Tree diameter correction factor (as a percentage). Your subsequent measurements will take it into account.
Height mode
The measurement takes two sightings.
- "Aim at the base of the tree" — tap Capture base.
- "Aim at the top of the tree" — the height is shown live as you raise the device, and a line connects the base to the point you are aiming at.
- Tap Capture top to lock the value.
Reset clears the measurement so you can start again.
This module records nothing
This is deliberate. The Tools are a reading instrument: they display a value, they do not keep it.
To keep a measurement, enter it in an inventory sheet: Observations ▸ Inventory, fields DIAMETER (cm) and HEIGHT. See the Observations guide.
Good to know
- The azimuth is shown in the unit you chose (degrees or gradians); the inclination is always in degrees.
- LiDAR measurement only reaches a few metres: it is not a site laser rangefinder.
- In bright sunlight or heavy rain, depth becomes less reliable — check the false-colour view.
- The module requires neither a domain nor an observation in progress: you can use it at any time.