---
title: "Quality Map"
slug: "quality-map"
description: "Quality maps show trajectory estimate, capture locations and point cloud density; dark blue marks floor coverage, brighter blue means more ceiling scanned. Bright stripes or spots mean shadowed areas; outdoor scans look plain white."
updated: 2025-09-23T15:32:52Z
published: 2025-09-23T15:32:52Z
canonical: "knowledge.navvis.com/quality-map"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledge.navvis.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quality Map

The quality map visualizes the quality of the mapping: it shows the trajectory estimate and capture locations and indicates the density of the Point cloud by showing densely scanned areas in different colors.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/bf174766-fa1a-4fe1-a4d7-b1db1e7cb996/Images/Documentation/quality-map-image-f9um6aep.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-14T06%3A52%3A33Z&se=2026-10-14T07%3A52%3A33Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=BtWhmSG8nAjuz9%2FBUT17HoQM2UYdoQk1iay8Lo6cK2Q%3D)

- Dark blue indicates floor coverage, with the blue color becoming brighter as more of the ceiling area is scanned.
- Objects are also shown. The visibility of an object in the quality map will depend on the amount of point cloud information scanned for that object as well as the height of the object along the z-axis. The greater the height of an object and the more point cloud information is available, the whiter that object will appear.

Each Dataset contains one small and one big version of the quality map. The big version has a higher resolution and, if processed with Mapping software version 1.6.5 or higher, includes additional information about the time elapsed since the start of the dataset, as well as the capture location index.

If the quality map contains bright stripes, patterns, or bright spots, it means that some parts of your environment were 'shadowed', so that the laser scanners could not ‘see’ it. This may happen if furniture is in the way, or if your room has a ceiling with a complex surface structure. Another possible cause is mapping outdoors: Here, no ceiling is present, meaning the point cloud is 'incomplete', and thus the quality map will be plain white. This does *not* mean that the point cloud does not exist or that its quality is bad.

---

### FAQ

#### What does the quality map visualize?

The quality map visualizes the quality of the mapping by showing the trajectory estimate, capture locations, and the density of the point cloud with different colors.

#### What does dark blue represent in the quality map?

Dark blue indicates floor coverage, with the blue color becoming brighter as more of the ceiling area is scanned.

#### How is the visibility of objects determined in the quality map?

The visibility of an object in the quality map depends on the amount of point cloud information scanned for that object and its height along the z-axis; taller objects with more point cloud information appear whiter.

#### Are there different versions of the quality map available?

Yes, each dataset contains one small and one big version of the quality map, with the big version having a higher resolution and additional information if processed with Mapping software version 1.6.5 or higher.

#### What do bright stripes or spots in the quality map indicate?

Bright stripes, patterns, or spots indicate that some parts of the environment were 'shadowed' and not scanned properly, possibly due to obstructions like furniture or complex ceiling structures.

A Point Cloud is as a collection of data points in space that typically represent the external surface of an object or environment. Point clouds are used in various applications, including 3D scanning and mapping, and can be visualized and manipulated using Navvis IVION. You can perform actions such as panning, orbiting, cleaning up noise, cropping, and downloading data in formats like .e57 or .ply. The resolution of point clouds processed with NavVis Software achieves a minimum detail of 5mm, indicating the precision of the spatial data points.

A dataset is a piece of a site, the result of a continuous recording with a NavVis mapping device or the result of an imported point cloud. Datasets can contain panoramic images and point clouds.