Section 1

LixelStudio Pipeline at a Glance

LixelStudio processes K1 and L2 Pro raw scan data into point clouds. PortalCam data goes through LCC Studio only. The two pipelines share no intermediate files and cannot be combined.

Stage

What Happens

Key Consideration

1. Import

Transfer raw scan folder from device to workstation SSD. Create new project in LixelStudio and point it at the scan folder.

Import to NVMe SSD. SATA SSD increases total processing time by 15 to 25%.

2. SLAM Optimization

LixelStudio reconstructs the trajectory and point map from raw LiDAR and IMU data. This is the main processing phase.

Set Windows Power & Sleep to Never before starting. A sleep interruption corrupts the processing run.

3. Coordinate Transform

RTK, PPK, or GCP data is applied to place the point cloud in a real-world coordinate system.

For E57 export: use pose.csv if no absolute coordinates, pose_no_offset.csv if absolute coordinates are present.

4. Color Mapping

Camera images are mapped onto point cloud geometry. Requires Insta360 timelapse files if external camera was used.

LixelStudio v2.5.2.1 or later required. CUDA 11.6+. No 10-series or older GPUs. Timelapse must be 3+ minutes.

5. Quality Review

Check point density, coverage, noise, and control point residuals in the LixelStudio viewer.

Verify a known dimension. A 5m corridor reading as 8m indicates tracking drift, not measurement error.

6. Export

Export in E57, LAS/LAZ, PLY, or RCP/RCS depending on downstream use.

E57 and LAS filenames must be 20 characters or shorter. Silent failure on longer names.

Section 2

Processing Requirements

RAM

Max Scan Duration

64 GB

~30 minutes

128 GB

~60 minutes

LixelStudio holds the full scan trajectory in RAM during SLAM optimization. Scans longer than your RAM ceiling require splitting into segments and using Map Fusion.

Scan Duration

Est. Processing Time

5 minutes

~100 to 150 minutes

20 minutes

~7 to 10 hours

60 minutes

~20 to 30 hours

Processing ratio: 20 to 30 times scan duration on recommended hardware with NVMe SSD.

Section 3

SLAM Mode Selection

Mode

Use When

Risk

Robust (default)

All standard environments. Use this first on any failed scan before trying other options.

Slightly lower accuracy than None in ideal conditions.

None

Stable device, clear environments with rich features, no motion artifacts.

May fail if scan contains intense motion or sensor interference.

Narrow Scene

Tunnels, mine shafts, long corridors over 500m.

Will cause failure if used in regular environments. Only for narrow geometries.

Section 4

Export Format Quick Reference

Format

Best For

Key Constraint

E57

Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks. Industry standard for BIM workflows.

Filename must be 20 characters or shorter. Longer names cause silent export failure. Select correct pose file: pose.csv (no absolute coords) or pose_no_offset.csv (with absolute coords).

LAS / LAZ

GIS platforms, CloudCompare, Recap Pro. LAZ is LAS compressed 80 to 90% with no quality loss.

Filename must be 20 characters or shorter for RCP/E57 conversion workflows.

PLY

General 3D tools, research, custom pipelines.

Large files. No built-in coordinate system metadata.

RCP / RCS

Autodesk ecosystem: Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks via ReCap Pro.

Requires LAS-to-RCP conversion in ReCap Pro. LAS filename limit applies.

Section 5

Map Fusion Quick Reference

Map Fusion in LixelStudio combines multiple scan segments into a single registered point cloud. The same hard limits from field collection apply in processing.

Limit

Value

Maximum segments per job

10

Maximum total scan duration

200 minutes

Maximum duration per segment

20 minutes

Device consistency

All segments must be from the same device model. K1 and L2 Pro cannot be mixed.

Connection method

RTK (all segments Fixed status) or matching control point names (case-sensitive)

Minimum overlap between segments

15 meters of shared geometry

Section 6

Critical Warnings

Data loss Set Windows Power and Sleep to Never before any processing run. A sleep or hibernate event during SLAM optimization corrupts the project. The run must be restarted from import.
Silent failure E57 and LAS filenames longer than 20 characters cause silent export failure. LixelStudio completes the export without error but the output file is corrupt or missing. Rename projects before exporting.
Silent failure Wrong pose file selection for E57 export produces unusable coordinates. Use pose.csv for scans without absolute coordinates. Use pose_no_offset.csv for scans with RTK or GCP absolute coordinates. The software does not warn you if you pick the wrong one.
Warning Coloring requires LixelStudio v2.5.2.1 or later, CUDA 11.6+, and no 10-series or older GPU. If coloring crashes without a clear error, check all three before troubleshooting further.
Warning Narrow Scene mode will fail in normal environments. Use it only for tunnels, mine shafts, or long corridors. Using it on a standard interior scan produces a processing failure.
Warning If SLAM processing fails, try Robust Mode before concluding the data is unrecoverable. Robust Mode is not the default in all configurations. If a scan fails in None mode, re-run in Robust Mode before submitting poses.csv to XGRIDS support.
Warning SATA SSDs increase processing time by 15 to 25%. For large projects or tight delivery timelines, NVMe SSD is the correct storage choice for the processing workstation.