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Every surface. Mapped in one flight.

Name: Scout 137 3D LiDAR
Brand: ScoutDI

High fidelity. Real-time. GPS-free.

The built-in 3D LiDAR turns every Scout 137 flight into a navigable point cloud of the entire asset interior. Same sensor handles SLAM localization in real time. The result lands in Scout Portal as a 3D model that every other measurement attaches to.

Book a live demo Technical specifications Scout Spatial Engine

The 128-beam Ouster OS0 LiDAR sensor that powers Scout 137 navigation

Sensor: Ouster OS0-128 Rev 7
Dimensional accuracy: ±25 mm at 95 % USIBD LOA20
Positioning and stabilization: Real-time SLAM on the edge
Operational safety: Virtual Cage BVLOS situational awareness

Point cloud of a tank roof and its radiating steel rafters, captured on a single Scout 137 flight and rendered in Scout Portal

High-fidelity point cloud

Full asset geometry. Single flight.

The LiDAR captures up to 5.24 million measurements per second. One pass through a cargo tank, distillation column or penstock returns the complete interior surface as a dense point cloud, tuned for close geometry, with up to 75 m range (35 m on dark, 10%-reflectivity surfaces) for the rare large space.

What used to take a static terrestrial survey rig and two days of setup happens in a 15-minute flight, and it comes standard: the 128-beam LiDAR is built into every Scout 137 Gen 3 and runs on every flight, not a payload you mount, a rig you rent, or a premium add-on.

The numbers hold up. Measured against a terrestrial laser scan, dimensions taken off the point cloud land within ±25 mm for 95 % of measurements (128 sizes from 0.2 m to 30 m). That meets USIBD LOA20, the accuracy level as-built contracts use, with no control points and no GNSS.

After the flight, Scout Portal processes the scan automatically and serves it as a navigable 3D model you measure, compare against the last inspection and share in the browser, nothing to install. Download the high-density point cloud as LAZ (or PCD, PLY and E57) for Autodesk ReCap, Leica Cyclone, Bentley OpenCities, FME and your own BIM or CAD workflow. The inspection and the as-built model become the same file.

Live operational benefit · Scout Operator

Virtual Cage. The benefit you get while you are still flying.

Everything else on this page is about what the point cloud gives you afterwards. Virtual Cage is what it gives you in the moment. As the RT Profile builds the map in Scout Operator, the map becomes a live, adjustable anti-collision boundary around the drone: a mapped beam, ledge or wall stays covered even after it drops out of the sensor’s line of sight.

That is also what makes beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight feel safe. The pilot flies on a live 3D map with full situational awareness, not on a stamp-sized camera feed, so the drone is just as protected deep inside the asset as it is at the hatch, and it takes far less stick skill to fly close to structure.

See Virtual Cage on Scout 137 Gen 3 →

The Scout 137 Gen 3 virtual cage: a geodesic boundary rendered live inside the LiDAR point cloud around the drone

Scout 137 Gen 3 floating in total darkness, lit only by its own headlights, tethered

Positioning and stabilization

It navigates in total darkness.

Inside a sealed tank there is no light, and no satellite signal to fall back on. The OS0 3D LiDAR doesn’t just measure distance: it captures a camera-grade near-infrared image of every surface, lit by its own laser. So the same sensor that builds the point cloud also sees where it is and flies on it. Real-time SLAM on the edge, running on the drone’s own computer, gives sub-centimetre positioning in pitch black, with no beacons, no markers and no ground setup.

That is what keeps the drone stable and predictable to fly. It is also why every reading from every payload (UT, photo, gas) sits in one consistent coordinate frame, ready to become a single navigable model.

One engine, three profiles

Scout Spatial Engine.

Scout Spatial Engine is ScoutDI’s spatial technology, from the real-time SLAM that keeps the drone positioned and stable to the processing that turns raw scans into a finished point cloud. It runs in three profiles, each tuned for a different job: flying safely where you can’t see, reviewing the scan on site, or getting the most precise point cloud once the flight is done. Scout 137, Scout Viewer and Scout Portal work as one system, so the flight you just flew is the model your team works in.

High-density point cloud of an indoor hall in Scout Portal, coloured by elevation, with the Scout 137 and its dotted flight path — An indoor hall in Scout Portal: high-density point cloud with the drone’s flight path.

While you fly

RT Profile

in Scout Operator

Real-time SLAM on the edge keeps the drone positioned and stable in total darkness. The map builds live, shows coverage gaps before you leave the asset, and powers Virtual Cage.
On site, right after

Review Profile

in Scout Viewer

Open the finished point cloud on the Android tablet you flew with, or from the SD card on a Windows PC. No login, no upload: walk it with the customer before you leave site.
Explore Scout Viewer
After the flight

HiFi Profile

in Scout Portal

Fully automated post-processing in the cloud that refines the scan for maximum detail and precision: dimensions within ±25 mm for 95 % of measurements (USIBD LOA20), measured, compared and shared in the browser, and exported as LAZ, PCD, PLY or E57. Live for every Scout Portal subscription on Gen 2 and Gen 3 flights.
Explore Scout Portal

Want to see it on your asset?

Book a live demo Find your distributor

From the field

“By obtaining precise measurements from the drone, we know exactly how much space we have to work with and can accurately calculate how much rock needs to be removed in areas where there isn’t enough room for reinforcement today.”

Johnny Skår Statens Vegvesen Norwegian National Road Authorities

Measurement: Off the 3D point cloud
People in the asset: 0
Exports: LAZ PCD PLY E57

Sensor

Sensor: 128-beam Ouster OS0 Rev 7 3D LiDAR (survey-grade)
Range: 0.5 – 75 m (80% reflectivity) 35 m (10% reflectivity)
Field of view: 360° horizontal × 90° vertical
Point rate: Up to 5.24 million points/second (128-channel, dual return)

Point cloud accuracy & output

Dimensional accuracy: ±25 mm (±0.98 in) for 95 % (2 σ) ±16 mm (±0.63 in) for 68 % (1 σ)
128 measured sizes from 0.2 m to 30 m (8 in to 99 ft), against a terrestrial laser scan. No control points, no GNSS.
Accuracy level (USIBD): LOA20
Surface precision, typical inspection flight: ±5 mm (±0.20 in) at 1 σ ±14 mm (±0.55 in) at 2 σ
A planned mapping flight in good conditions does better: five such flights in three assets gave ±1.7 to ±2.7 mm at 1 σ.
Repeatability, same asset: ±2 mm (±0.08 in) at 1 σ for the same surface
Global accuracy (drift): Not specified
Processing: Automatically post-processed high-density point clouds from Scout Portal (Scout Spatial Engine HiFi Profile)
Exports (via Scout Portal): LAZ high-density PCD, LAZ, PLY, E57 medium-density
CAD & BIM compatible: Point-cloud formats import into Autodesk ReCap, Leica Cyclone, Bentley OpenCities, FME and common BIM and CAD pipelines

Positioning & stabilization

SLAM: Real-time, on the drone (on the edge), same sensor sub-centimetre drone positioning inside the asset
Operates: In total darkness no GNSS needed no beacons or ground setup
In flight: Virtual Cage: adjustable anti-collision from the live map BVLOS situational awareness in Scout Operator

Mount & physical

Integration: Built into Scout 137 Gen 3 always on, not a removable payload
Sensor weight: 430 g
Operating temperature: −20 °C to +50 °C
Laser & ingress: Class 1 eye-safe (865 nm) IP68 / IP69K

Talk to us

See the point cloud, and what you do with it.

Book a free 45-minute online demo. A ScoutDI pilot flies Scout 137 live and walks you through real inspection data in Scout Portal: measuring the point cloud, sharing it with engineering and class, and exporting it into your own tools.

Book a live demo 15 min with an engineer

Or request a Proof of Concept Buy Scout 137 Find your distributor

Every surface. Mapped in one flight.