Open Access

ARTICLE

Accuracy Assessment of Smartphone LiDAR in 3D Bridge Modelling

Muhamad Hakimi Sahbudin¹, Noraain Mohamed Saraf^1,*, Saiful Aman Sulaiman¹, Abdul Rauf Abdul Rasam², Nafisah Khalid¹, Lau Chong Luh¹

1 Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Malaysia Institute of Transport (MITRANS), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

* Corresponding Author: Noraain Mohamed Saraf. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advancements in Geospatial Methods and Technologies for Sustainable Built Environment and Engineering)

Revue Internationale de Géomatique 2026, 35, 101-120. https://doi.org/10.32604/rig.2026.072359

Received 25 August 2025; Accepted 26 January 2026; Issue published 24 February 2026

Abstract

The integration of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology into consumer electronics like smartphones has created new opportunities for the use of three-dimensional (3D) modelling, especially in the domains of infrastructure inspection and civil engineering. This paper presents the accuracy of a 3D bridge model generated using a smartphone LiDAR application in comparison with conventional surveying methods. In this study, LiDAR data were captured using an iPhone 13 Pro and processed to generate 3D models. The accuracy of the generated model was then validated against reference data obtained from a tacheometry survey, which served as a ground truth for Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) determination based upon coordinates, distance measurements and volumetric comparison. The results indicate that smartphone LiDAR achieves coordinate RMSE values within the decimeter to submeter range for both Ground Control Points (GCPs) and bridge edge features. The RMSE values obtained for the GCPs were 0.324, 0.274 and 0.298 m, respectively. Distance analysis revealed moderate differences of 0.278, 0.668 and 0.455 m, respectively, while the volumetric comparison showed a relatively small overall difference of 0.679 m³ between the two methods. These values validate that the smartphone LiDAR is suitable for preliminary bridge documentation, 3D visualization and rapid geometric assessment. Nevertheless, it cannot serve as a replacement for high precision surveying methods required for detailed structural inspection. Overall, the findings demonstrate the potential of smartphone LiDAR as a cost-effective complementary device for bridge modelling applications in the fields of geomatics and civil engineering.

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Keywords

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