NavVis VLX Scanning Daily Coverage Guide

How many square meters can you scan per hour?

(Practical ranges, assumptions, and what affects them)

Purpose and scope

This guide provides planning numbers for how much area an average operator can capture per hour with a NavVis VLX in different environments.

It is intended for:

• Project managers and planners estimating field effort

• LSPs and partners creating quotes and schedules

• Internal teams aligning on realistic expectations for daily coverage

Assumptions

Unless otherwise noted, the numbers below assume:

• Device: NavVis VLX

• Operator: Trained and reasonably experienced (not first-day users)

• Walking pace: Steady but not rushed, with proper loop closures

• Control: A standard, well-prepared control strategy (where applicable)

• Time basis:

  • The hourly figures assume effective scanning time (device actively capturing),

  • Setting up, breaks, travel between buildings, site inductions, and long relocations are not included in the hourly productivity numbers.

Note: When converting hourly coverage into daily coverage, you must estimate how many net scanning hours per day are realistic for your site (often 4–6 hours of true scanning in an 8–10 hour workday, depending on logistics).

Executive summary (short answer)

Depending on the complexity of the environment and site logistics under typical real‑world conditions, with the NavVis VLX device, teams typically can capture ≈ 3,200 - 8,000 m²/hour (≈ 34,500 ft²/hour - 86,000 ft²/hour) per scanner.

These estimates are for simple and complex scenarios and should be treated as a planning starting point, not a guaranteed result for every project.

Benchmarks from real projects

Mobile scanning speed claims (ideal conditions)

In ideal environments such as large, open warehouses with simple geometry and minimal obstructions, mobile mapping can achieve up to:

≈ 8,000 m²/hour (≈ 86,000 ft²/hour) per scanner

Characteristics of these ideal conditions:

• Long, straight sightlines

• Few or no small rooms

• Minimal doors and access restrictions

• Simple structural geometry, little vertical complexity

These situations are relatively rare in mixed-use facilities but are good for demonstrating the upper level of what is achievable.

More complex environments (typical planning numbers)

For more complex geometries such as:

• Standard office buildings

• Education facilities

• Small housing, healthcare, or plant environments with more obstacles

a common planning number is:

• ≈ 3,000 m²/hour (≈ 32,300 ft²/hour) per scanner for complex layouts

• ≈ 4,000–8,000 m²/hour (≈ 43,000–86,000 ft²/hour) per scanner for standard offices or education buildings

Note: These numbers are typical planning values, not strict limits.

Case study example

A single day covered “several tens of thousands of square meters” in a process-industry facility using mobile scanning.

This was achieved with:

• Well-prepared access

• Clear scan segmentation and loop closure planning

• Minimal downtime between scan segments

What most influences daily area captured

1. Geometry and obstacle density

This is the single biggest factor.

• Simple geometry in the environment (open halls / warehouses):

  • Long, straight paths, very few obstructions

  • Operator can walk briskly with broad sensor field of view

  • Fewer loop closures and direction changes needed

  • Result: Highest area/hour

• Moderate geometry in the environment (standard offices / schools):

  • Many rooms, corridors, doors, and turns

  • More frequent loop closures and backtracking

  • Repeated opening/closing of doors and entering rooms slows movement

  • Result: Mid-range area/hour

• Complex geometry in the environment (plants, hospitals, small housing, mechanical rooms):

  • Tight spaces, vertical elements, dense MEP

  • Frequent occlusions and narrow passageways

  • Many stop/starts to ensure coverage around obstacles

  • Result: Lowest area/hour

2. Access, safety, and logistics

Even with simple geometry, logistics can halve your effective coverage:

• Escort requirements: Needing a guide or safety escort can introduce waiting times.

• Lockouts and permits: Hot work permits, safety inductions, or area lockouts delay scanning.

• Staged/blocked areas: Areas that are not yet accessible require returns or re-mobilization.

• Frequent interruptions: Production stops, security checks, or staff movements that require re-scanning.

All of these reduce your net scanning hours per day, even if your per-hour scanning rate (when moving) is high.

3. Control points and targets workflow

Using surveyed control points improves absolute accuracy and global alignment, but it also introduces additional work:

• Control point planning and placement

• Survey measurements (total station, GNSS, etc.)

• Capturing control in each scan segment

Well-prepared control points can be integrated efficiently, but in many real projects, poorly planned control points are a major cause of lost time.

Guidelines:

• Pre-plan where a control point is needed (e.g. per building, per floor, per segment).

• Have control points installed and measured before scanning day where possible.

• Standardize your control point-to-scan procedure across teams.

4. Operator technique

Two operators with the same device can easily differ by tens of percent in coverage due to technique:

• Consistent walking pace: Avoid “stop-go-stop” unless needed for coverage.

• Good loop closures: Plan and execute closures logically to avoid re-scanning large areas.

• Minimizing redundant passes: Only re-trace where needed for accuracy or completeness.

• Awareness of SLAM requirements: Avoid extremely fast rotations, occluded loops, or chaotic paths.

Regular training, SOPs, and internal best-practice sharing have a measurable impact on actual hourly performance.

5. Concurrency (multiple scanners)

Using multiple VLX devices in parallel can scale coverage almost linearly if:

• The site is well-partitioned (e.g. building A vs B, or floor 1 vs floor 2).

• There is a shared, consistent control framework.

• Operators receive clear area boundaries and don’t overlap unnecessarily.

Examples:

• 2 devices each doing ≈ 5,900 m²/hour (≈ 63,500 ft²/hour) → ≈ 11,800 m²/hour (≈ 127,000 ft²/hour) total

• 3 devices under good partitioning → ≈ 17,700 m²/hour (≈ 190,500 ft²/hour) total, assuming similar conditions and operator skill.

6. Panoramas and image capture strategy

Panoramas are useful for deliverables, but each panorama:

• Requires that the operator slows or stops

• Adds to the data volume and potential on-site time

If panoramas are taken rarely and strategically, the impact is small. If taken at very high frequency, the effective coverage/hour can drop significantly.

Note: Future features may help reduce the time penalty of panoramic imagery and could significantly increase effective coverage in some workflows.

Quick planning ranges

Use these as starting points and adjust based on your specific project:

Practical planning examples

Example 1 – Standard office building

• Environment: Mix of open office, corridors, meeting rooms

• Assumed rate: 4,000 m²/hour (≈ 43,100 ft²/hour) (mid-range office scenario)

• Net scanning time: 5 hours in a 9-hour day (rest is setup, breaks, moves)

Example 2 – Complex plant with safety constraints

• Environment: Dense industrial plant, strict PPE, escorts, frequent obstructions

• Assumed rate: 1,000 m²/hour (≈ 10,800 ft²/hour) (within complex range)

• Net scanning time: 4 hours of actual scanning in a 10-hour day

Example 3 – Two scanners in an open warehouse

• Environment: Large warehouse, excellent access

• Assumed rate: 10,000 m²/hour (≈ 107,600 ft²/hour) per scanner (upper simple range)

• Net scanning time: 6 hours in an 8–9 hour day

• Devices: 2 scanners in parallel