I would like an app that lets me map the dimensions and floor plans of an indoor space. Without really knowing a ton about lidar or the specific implementation of it in this device, I imagine that could be done?

The apps that use the camera are all pretty clunky. If I could just walk around the inside of my house for a while and let it map it out, that would be nifty.

(put on tin foil hat) Then the iPad can track my movement around my house and play ads based on which room I am in.

Example - walks into bathroom and I hear "Try new lemon toilet bowl cleaner."

I am thinking masonry/fireplace door installation. Each fireplace needs measured accurately before one can order a Fireplace door. Often times, customers opt to measure themselves. In a previous life, the company I worked for ran into so many issues and so many "rejected" doors that were used for floor/clearance models. Even if the customer did not do the measurement, installers would get it wrong. The measurements necessary for a Fireplace door include up to 12+ distinct measurement. The type of door (zero clearance, etc..) as well as door accessories are heavily dependent on the measurements. Imagine placing an order, waiting 4-8 weeks for it to be built and all to discover that it doesn't fit. Anyone interested in tackling this problem, get a hold of me.

3D scan any physical object and then send it to a 3D printer. So many possibilities!

- Cosplayer? 3D scan yourself, you now have a model you can make minis out of.

- Need to replace a simple valve to help treat covid19? This does most of the work for you.

- Game dev? You can scan a real world item, either importing it directly or using it as an outline for an in-game object.

For most high detail or functional things you probably will need to make some adjustments to the scanned model, but it could make the whole process waaay easier.

Basically same as the current AR, but with actual measurements. So the scale is actually correct, distance measures are correct, and so on. Can create a 3D model up to the range of the LIDAR etc etc.

- How about self-body scanning for dating apps? You can add it on your profile as a "LiDAR 3d-model" bonus so interested parties know they're not getting catfished. Yeah, you can always scan your hot friend, but it just requires another level of deception.

- How about a "night-vision" app? Without needing a flashlight, you can stumble around a dark room (maybe outdoors at night?) without running into walls.

They have some good examples in the article. For example, the IKEA app that will be able to instantly measure your room and suggest furnishings.

It is only new to the iPad - you can look at intel's realsense and microsoft's kinect to check out depth cameras in use for many years already. The integration is what will make it special. We will have to see what the noise is like coming off the camera though. I would guess there will be some SLAM demos of mapping spaces or digitizing objects.

I doubt they did it for anything like that. I bet they just want to get more 3D content for their upcoming VR goggles.

A lot of these comments are expecting magical perfectly scanned geo but really its just another slightly less fuzzy point cloud you need to sort through. Kinect and Tango did it. Maybe Apple cracked it and it is magical. We'll have to see.

I wonder if you could combine the camera data with the lidar to make detailed real estate virtual walk-throughs.

Also, just as the Kinect allowed for some makeshift motion capture / animation, maybe the lidar could allow for some makeshift 3D modeling.

A 3D model of your home in a cartoon/"the sims" style that shows where your smart home devices are. The model could also be used to play various automation scenarios (e.g. morning routine, or someone walks past the front door). It's easy to keep track of a few devices, but if you have many similar devices, you likely think about them by location, not by name or other identifier.

I'm thinking about the security implications more than what I could build to be honest.

I'm going to develop an alarm app that flashes the iPad screen red and blares an alarm when the user, walking with their head down, ignores the crosswalk signs and steps into the path of a car that has the right of way. At least the user will know that their death was their own fault ... something that wasn't possible until now.