Comparison

PointCloudKit vs RTAB

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PointCloudKit

Capture and explore your surroundings using LiDAR-compatible devices. This utility app offers a new way to interact with your environment through advanced scanning technology.

Highlights
  • LiDAR scanning
  • Environmental capture
  • 3D exploration
  • Feature requests
  • User feedback
Read full description

Using latest LiDAR compatible devices from Apple, explore and capture your surrounding in a new way! Contact for feature request or feedback Thanks for using!

About

RTAB

This utility app enables real-time 3D scanning and mapping of environments using LiDAR or RGB-D sensors. It features online loop closure detection and map optimization for immediate feedback, with export options for various 3D formats.

Highlights
  • Online 3D scanning and mapping
  • Loop closure detection and map correction
  • Save maps in DB format
  • Export in PLY, LAS, or OBJ
  • Multi-session mapping
  • AR/VR visualization mode
Read full description

RTAB-Map (Real-Time Appearance-Based Mapping) is an Open Source LiDAR / RGB-D / Stereo Graph-Based SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) approach based on an online incremental appearance-based loop closure detector. The loop closure detector uses a bag-of-words approach to determinate how likely a new image comes from a previous location or a new location. When a loop closure hypothesis is accepted, a new constraint is added to the map's graph, then a graph optimizer minimizes the errors in the map in real-time. An optional memory management approach can be used to limit the number of locations used for loop closure detection and graph optimization, so that real-time constraints on large-scale environnements are always respected. ARKit's visual inertial odometry (VIO) is used as the SLAM front-end for RTAB-Map (the SLAM back-end). * Note that unlike other scanning apps that optimize the map only after mapping, with RTAB-Map you get loop closure detection and map optimization online so you can have a live feedback to know when you have enough constraints in the map for good global optimization before stopping the scan. *** 3D reconstruction available only with LiDAR sensor. Features: * Online 3D scanning/mapping of the environment. * Online loop closure detection and map correction. * Save in DB format (RTAB-Map desktop and rtabmap_ros format). * Export in PLY, LAS or OBJ. * Multi-session mapping (save and continue later). * Use Apriltags to help finding loop closures in textureless environments. * Mixed AR/VR First-Person in visualization mode. * Raw ARKit data recording (up to 60 Hz!), useful to record long sessions without comprising battery life.

Screenshots

PointCloudKit4 screens
RTAB3 screens

Verdict

The call

PointCloudKit and RTAB are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
PointCloudKit versus RTAB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPointCloudKitRTAB
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (39 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—39 — better
Update frequency—Every 4 months
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better14.3
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexandre CamilleriMathieu Labbe

Customer experience

PointCloudKit

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

RTAB

All ratings39 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PointCloudKit

No in-app purchases

None

RTAB

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PointCloudKit free?
PointCloudKit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RTAB free?
RTAB is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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