In the blink of an eye, we've entered an era where architects and interior designers can effortlessly craft 3D floor plans of a room, capturing essential elements like dimensions and furnishings, using the LiDAR Scanner on our iPhone or iPad. This cutting-edge technology is a key updated feature in Apple's new iOS 17, available Monday September 18th, known as "RoomPlan."
Streamlining the design process and leaving behind the "days of laborious measurements, reconstructed in CAD only to find missing data and inconsistencies," as Morpholio co-founder Mark Collins points out, you can instantly scan almost any interior space to create floor plans or 3D room models. "This is the fastest 'scan to plan' experience ever available," he adds.
Morpholio, which has worked with Apple technology for more than a decade to innovate design and digital drafting for architects and interior designers, is now launching Trace with a powerful "RoomPlan" integration. Trace now allows users to access live 3D RoomPlan models, to scale, inside the app and create infinite views to draw or design over.
'RoomPlan is going to be an absolute game changer for designers,' says Anna Kenoff, architectural designer, and Morpholio Co-Founder. 'Imagine showing up at any job site, and being able to simply scan the space, throw down digital trace paper and start sketching in seconds.'
This technology not only represents value in the time saved on field measurements and 3D modeling but also enables us as designers to immerse ourselves in the design process on-site, capturing inspiration while it's fresh.
'Putting design first, Trace has always championed hand drawing paired with digital tools like RoomPlan that allow creators to interact with the world they are shaping in efficient and intuitive ways,' says Toru Hasegawa, Morpholio Co-Creator.
How does it work?
1. Scan
With Trace, simply launch RoomPlan as a new project type and start scanning a room. Users will need an iPad or iPhone with LiDAR and iPadOS 17 or iOS 17. In seconds, Trace will have a 3D model to draw over and users can scan an entire house or space room by room. (Note: LiDAR available on iPhone 12 Pro or later and iPad Pro Gen 4 or later. Please refer to Apple.)
2. Set
Users will now have a live 3D model inside Trace and the ability to create infinite views. Set a floor plan to scale, an axon to sketch over or a perspective to illustrate your design idea. Users can also set exact solar positions based on location for real shade and shadow with Trace’s ShadowMaker tool.
3. Sketch
Trace will automatically set your scale for elevations and plans; it will also automatically generate perspective grids to follow in a perspective view. Users can easily generate design options, dimensioned plans, sketch ideas, diagrams and more.
iPhone + iPad Together: A Smart Ecosystem
If your iPad does not have LiDAR most likely your phone will if it’s a 12 Pro or later. Simply scan your space with an iPhone and then Airdrop it to your iPad (Refer to Apple).
Additional iOS17 Features
With iOS 17 specifically, when available, new and improved LiDAR scanning includes multi-room composite scans to create a single house or building model and recognition of more complex geometry such as sloped beams and ceilings.
Morpholio’s New Trace with RoomPlan is now available in the Apple App Store for iPhones & iPad.
About Morpholio
Morpholio was founded by four architects who wanted smarter mobile tools for all phases of the design process. Their apps put designers first as they fuse the fluidity and speed of working by hand with the intelligence and precision of device technology. With users in over 150 countries, they have been recognized on numerous "Best Apps" lists.
The suite for iPad and iPhone, includes Trace, for sketching and drafting, Board, for mood and design boards, and Journal, a sketchbook for drawing. Morpholio believes that design tools should amplify the creative process, that thinking with your hands is critical, and that smart software should be accessible everywhere.
