Scanning indoor environments with Microsoft HoloLens 2 for interactive generation of floor plans

Nowadays, 3D scanning is used in a wide range of fields, including relief and indoors mapping.However, the tools used in the scanning process may present drawbacks, regarding size, mobility, weight, real time data visualization, etc.Moreover, for the subsequent processing of the data, specialized staff and great amount of time are needed, increasing project complexity and cost, and thus restricting the use of these technologies.On the other hand, Mixed Reality devices have experienced a remarkable growth in later years, due to their nearly infinite uses.To address the former situation, the use of Mixed Reality device HoloLens 2 as a scanning tool is proposed, in order to achieve an intuitive, fast, and versatile experience.Furthermore, marker placement with the device is also proposed to help with data post-processing.In order to accomplish this objective, three main sections are differentiated: data extraction, development environment and the creation of the scanning application.For the first section, Microsoft provides a tool, called "Windows Device Portal" (Microsoft Learn, 2024 b), that can be used with HoloLens 2 to visualize and extract information from the device.With this tool, some points were clarified: the scan is automatic, only a portion of the data near the device is loaded and different scanned environments can be stored and loaded automatically.