Luxembourg-based Artec 3D has released Artec Twins, a software platform for processing, rendering, and analyzing 3D scans of large environments, including point clouds containing billions of points. The launch extends the company’s work beyond object-level scanning into site-scale digital twins for surveying, inspection, and monitoring, combining data from Artec scanners, smartphones, drones, and satellites in a single project.
The program was first developed for Artec Jet, the company’s mobile SLAM-based LiDAR scanner introduced in April. It builds on tools from Artec Studio, Artec 3D’s existing capture and processing software, and adds Gaussian Splatting, built-in analysis functions, and algorithms designed for very large datasets.
Combining Data from Different Capture Methods
Artec Twins is aimed at projects such as construction sites, cities with kilometers of infrastructure, open terrain, building interiors, and heritage landmarks. Its multi-source fusion feature merges scans captured at different levels of detail. According to Artec 3D, satellite, aircraft, or Artec Jet data can cover wide areas, while the stationary Artec Ray II adds finer detail and the wireless handheld Artec Leo reaches sub-millimeter accuracy. The merged model can be exported to third-party programs as E57 or LAS/LAZ files, or in common mesh and Gaussian Splatting formats.
“Most existing solutions ask users to compromise,” said Art Yukhin, President & CEO of Artec 3D. “Either they support handheld 3D scanning, SLAM-LiDAR, or aerial capture – but not all of the above. Many also require dedicated workstations or third-party tools.”
Real-Time Rendering and Gaussian Splatting
Artec 3D says the software displays point clouds of billions of points at up to 200 frames per second without decimation or latency. Areas of 100 km² or larger stay navigable, so users can pan across, fly through, and inspect an entire site.
“It’s geometry first, so the measurement is always right,” Yukhin said. The company links this priority to surveying, infrastructure, and public safety work, where measurements must be correct before visual quality comes into play.
Artec Twins also introduces Gaussian Splatting to Artec 3D’s software lineup for the first time. The technique generates and renders splats internally, without external tools, and the company says it captures translucent and reflective surfaces that conventional reconstruction methods struggle with. Splat models can be built from Artec Jet LiDAR data or from photos and video, and Artec 3D suggests them for client and stakeholder presentations.
Within one project, operators can switch between point clouds, meshes, and Gaussian Splats, moving between measurement work and photorealistic views of the scan. Overlays for color, height, normals, and intensity are included, along with first-person navigation for remote walkthroughs, inspections, and presentations to project partners.
Measurement and Analysis Tools
Analysis functions include distance maps between point clouds, meshes, or CAD references, as well as cross-sections, volume calculations, primitive fitting, and measurements on fused models. Georeferencing and ground control point support place scans in real-world coordinates.
Comparing as-built scans with design files allows teams to detect deviations, check tolerances, and track changes over time to avoid rework. Artec 3D says these tools are sufficient for most projects without additional software, and that processing runs locally to keep data secure.
Artec Studio remains the company’s flagship software for professional 3D scanning, while Artec Twins targets monitoring, inspection, and surveying in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC), mining, infrastructure, and public safety. The software is central to Artec Jet and Artec Ray II workflows and can also be used with the company’s other scanners.
Artec Twins is available through the Artec 3D website and the company’s global reseller network.
Cutting Software Handoffs from Part Inspection to Site Mapping
Artec Twins extends a direction Artec 3D has taken in its recent software work: reducing the number of separate programs scan data passes through before it can be analyzed.
In January, the company integrated InnovMetric’s PolyWorks|Inspector into Artec Studio, targeting the exports, manual realignment, and rebuilt inspection setups that slow shop-floor inspection with portable scanners. When Artec Twins first appeared alongside Artec Jet, it was presented as a companion platform to process, merge, georeference, visualize, and inspect point clouds. The current release carries that approach to site scale, combining scans from several device types in one project.
3DMakerPro’s Raven series brings a similar pairing of outputs to handheld LiDAR hardware. The handheld scanners, priced at $1,699 for the Raven and $2,699 for the Raven Max, record indoor rooms and outdoor scenes in one workflow and support add-ons including drone, vehicle, and backpack kits. Its free RayStudio software handles point cloud processing, colorization, Gaussian Splatting, and first-person navigation in one program, which places it close to Artec Twins in keeping point clouds and Gaussian splats together.
Artec Twins moves the company’s handoff-reduction approach from individual parts to entire sites, where a single project can draw on aerial, mobile, and handheld capture.
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Featured image shows Artec Twins. Image via Arted 3D.
