PractiCal AR vs Point Cloud & BIM Viewer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PractiCal AR
This app uses augmented reality to help FIRST Robotics Competition teams calibrate AprilTag placement on practice fields. It detects tags, builds field maps, and compares positions to ideal layouts, exporting reports for further use. It also includes AR mini-games for practice.
- AprilTag detection with 3D pose
- Field map building
- Ideal vs. actual tag comparison
- Calibration report export (CSV, JSON, Markdown)
- 3D field model viewer
- AR mini-games for practice
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PractiCal AR helps FIRST® Robotics Competition teams calibrate and check practice field AprilTag placement using augmented reality and AprilTag detection. Use your device to detect AprilTags, build a field map, compare detected tag positions against an ideal field layout, and export the results for use in other tools. APRILTAG DETECTION Detect AprilTags in real time using your device’s camera and ARKit. Each detected tag is shown in the AR view with its 3D pose so you can see position and orientation while scanning . FIELD CALIBRATION Scan your practice field AprilTags and compare their detected positions against the official field layout. CALIBRATION REPORT View a table showing Ideal vs. Actual tag placement, then export the report as CSV, JSON, or Markdown. 3D FIELD MODEL View this season’s simplified field CAD model in a 3D viewer, or place it in your environment using AR. REVIEW MODE Review saved calibration data in the app without needing to be in front of the field. EXPORT YOUR DATA Export your field calibration data in WPILib JSON format and Limelight JSON format. AR GAME Use your a practice or competition field to play four AR mini-games — launch fuel balls at the hub targets on the field and track your scores. Play the games from the stands, no need to do any calibration of the field, other than using PractiCal to detect and pin a single tag, all from the stands. The included games are: - Quick Shot — Score as many as you can in 20 seconds - Hot Shot — Build the longest streak without missing - Long Shot — Go for distance — how far can you score from? - Top Shot — How good is your accuracy rate? The game features: - Real-time ball physics with adjustable launch speed and angle - Aim with your camera. NOTE: The game and scores are specific to REBUILT and will be removed at the beginning of the 2027 FRC season. Leaderboard participation is optional and only displays user provided 3 letters and FRC team #. Useful settings for calibrating tags from a distance is in Settings -> Calibration * Tap to recenter all tags * Snap tags to vertical The higher the resolutions and lower the decimation, the farther you can be. You can also detect closer and walk away, ARKit will know how fr you've gone. PractiCal AR is free, with no in-app purchases or ads. Built by an FRC mentor for the FRC community. Requires a device with ARKit support and a camera. Works best in a well-lit environment with clearly visible AprilTags. LEGAL & TRADEMARKS This app is an independent educational project developed by Eagle Evolution, FRC Team #3322. The 3D field models included are simplified derivative works created for reference purposes, based on the official 2026 FIRST® Robotics Competition season, REBUILT™ presented by Haas. FIRST®, the FIRST® logo, FIRST® Robotics Competition, and REBUILT™ are trademarks of For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST®), which is not overseeing, involved with, or responsible for this activity, product, or service. All original CAD data and field technical information are the sole property of FIRST®. Any reproduction of the original CAD, in part or as a whole, without written permission from FIRST® is prohibited. AprilTag detection is powered by the AprilTag 3 library, licensed under the BSD 2-Clause License.
Point Cloud & BIM Viewer
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Point Cloud & BIM Viewer opens laser scans and BIM models on your Mac, iPad and iPhone — measure them, cut sections, see where the building differs from the design, and export the results. Everything stays on the device: no account, no upload. A sample project with a guide shows where everything is. FORMATS • E57 with registered scan setups, colour, intensity and spherical photographs • LAS and LAZ 1.0 to 1.4, with colour, intensity and classification; COPC opens as the LAZ it is • PLY, ASCII and binary; PTS and PTX; XYZ and TXT with intensity or RGB columns • IFC models, also zipped or gzipped; USDZ, USD, OBJ, STL, glTF and GLB • DXF floor plans laid under the scan, with the drawing's layers to switch off • A whole job at once: several files, a folder or a zip become one project Import never modifies the original; a scan of a hundred million points imports in tens of megabytes. EVERYTHING IN ONE PROJECT The side panel lists what a project holds: the cloud and each of its scans, every model file and floor plan, and saved cuts. Show, hide, colour and look at each on its own — colour every scan setup to check the registration. Add scans later, show several model files together, send a project by AirDrop. THE SCAN AGAINST THE MODEL • Every point coloured by its distance to the model, with a tolerance you set • Which elements the scan shows as built, which are missing, and where it never went • The elements built out of tolerance, listed • Place a model by pairs of corners, by the walls in the scan, or where its georeference says • Measure from the scan to a surface of the model SCAN WITH LIDAR On an iPhone or iPad with LiDAR, scan a room into a project, fit it to the other scans, and continue later. For orientation, not millimetres. THE PROJECT IN AR On iPhone and iPad, stand the project on a table, or at 1:1 in the building itself by a few shared points, with a scan's panorama over the walls. ON THE MAP Coordinates read as a surveyor writes them: S-JTSK Y and X, or E and N in the system the file or the IFC georeference names. Keep points by them, see the project on a map with an aerial view under the scan, or place it by hand. The map loads from Apple Maps only when switched on. THE MODEL Browse elements by storey, class or file and find them by name, class, GlobalId or property. Select them in the view or by rectangle, colour and group them. Read every property, inherited ones too. Check a model against IDS: what fails is listed, and each failure can become a note. MEASURE • Distance with its horizontal and vertical parts, and height straight up • Face to face: wall thickness, clear width, clear height • The shortest distance between two elements, or from an element to the scan • Polylines, angles and best-fit areas • Notes anchored to a point or an element • Every pick is verified against the cloud at full resolution; an uncertain one is refused • Metric or imperial units SECTIONS AND ROOMS A box you move, turn and reshape by dragging, a plane or a slice. Where a cut crosses the model, its solids are hatched and outlined. Save a cut with its view under a name and return to it. SEEING THE SCAN RGB, intensity, classification, a heatmap, or elevation over the whole scan or a band of a few centimetres. A grid, views from all six sides, and panoramas from the scanner's position. ISSUES IN BCF Notes leave as BCF topics with a viewpoint and the element they are on; BCF files from other tools open as notes. EXPORT The cloud or a single scan as E57 with panoramas, LAS, PLY or XYZ; a section as LAS; CSV, JSON with sections, BCF, a PNG snapshot. FREE AND PRO Free with one project; Pro removes the limit for a single payment, no subscription. Projects you have stay open either way. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO Point data is not edited, and tripod scans are registered in the scanner's software. Clouds in two different coordinate systems are not brought into one. Models you open are read, never modified.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PractiCal AR at none against Point Cloud & BIM Viewer's 1. Point Cloud & BIM Viewer's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Point Cloud & BIM Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PractiCal AR asks for nothing beyond the download.
PractiCal AR ships an update monthly, Point Cloud & BIM Viewer every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PractiCal AR | Point Cloud & BIM Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | A2IDEA, LLC | Sew Grader by Virtalia |
In-app purchases
PractiCal AR
No in-app purchases
Point Cloud & BIM Viewer
- Pointclouds Viewer Pro$6.99
Questions
Is PractiCal AR free?
Is Point Cloud & BIM Viewer free?
Do PractiCal AR or Point Cloud & BIM Viewer have ads?
Which is updated more often, PractiCal AR or Point Cloud & BIM Viewer?
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