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. Run Accuracy Check against known control points.

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

6. Export

Export in E57 (unstructured or structured), LAS/LAZ, PLY, RCP/RCS, or .ilas 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

32 GB

~15 minutes. Functional but not officially supported by XGRIDS in LixelStudio v3.5.

64 GB (official minimum)

~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. The official minimum configuration is 64 GB per the LixelStudio v3.5.1.0 manual.

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

None (default)

Standard processing mode. Use for the initial processing attempt in all environments.

May fail in degraded scenes, intense motion, or sensor interference. If it fails, try Robust before concluding the data is unrecoverable.

Robust

Enable after a None mode failure, particularly when the processing report shows "LIO trajectory drift." Improves success rate in partially degraded or high-motion scenes.

May reduce accuracy compared to None mode. Use only as a recovery step, not as a first choice.

Narrow Scene

Tunnels, mine shafts, long corridors. Effective within approximately 500 m. For corridors over 500 m, segment into multiple scans with control points and use Map Fusion.

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

Section 4

Export Format Quick Reference

Format

Best For

Key Constraint

E57 (unstructured)

Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks. Industry standard for BIM workflows. Exported directly from File > Export.

Filename must be 20 characters or shorter. Silent failure on longer names. Select correct pose file: pose.csv (no absolute coords) or pose_no_offset.csv (with absolute coords).

E57 (structured)

BubbleView-compatible workflows in Autodesk, Leica, FARO platforms. Merges point cloud with panoramic photos along the acquisition path.

Requires a colored point cloud with panoramic photo output and corresponding pose data. Converted via the LAS-to-E57 tool in LixelStudio (Tools > LAS to E57). See 8.5 Export Formats.

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 downstream RCP or 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.

LixelStudio includes a built-in LAS-to-RCP converter (up to 10 LAS files, for AutoCAD and ReCap 2020+). Also convertible in ReCap Pro. LAS filename limit applies.

.ilas

Internal XGRIDS format for processed point cloud data transfer between LixelStudio instances or XGRIDS ecosystem tools.

New in v3.5. Not compatible with third-party software. Use LAS, E57, or PLY for external delivery.

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.

Coloring method

Unified across all segments: all built-in camera coloring OR all external panoramic coloring. Cannot mix methods within a single fusion job.

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, enable Robust Mode before concluding the data is unrecoverable. Robust Mode is off by default. It is a Special Mode in LixelStudio Advanced Settings. If a scan fails in the default None mode, re-run with Robust Mode enabled 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.
Warning AMD GPUs are not supported in LixelStudio. LixelStudio requires NVIDIA GPU architecture with CUDA. There is no driver update or workaround for AMD GPUs.
Warning Drone Mode project files require LixelStudio v3.3 or higher. Earlier versions cannot process Drone Mode data. Verify your LixelStudio version before attempting to import L2 Pro Drone Mode scans.
Warning Firmware and LixelStudio version must match. Devices with firmware v2.4.1 or later require current LixelStudio. Firmware v1.4.0 to v2.4.0 requires LixelStudio v3.3.1.2. Firmware before v1.4.0 requires LixelStudio v2.4.2 or earlier. Mismatches produce processing failures. See 8.1 Pipeline Overview for the full compatibility table.
Warning Map Fusion requires unified coloring across all segments. All segments must use either built-in camera coloring or external panoramic coloring. Mixing coloring methods within a single fusion job is not supported and produces coloring errors or failure.