How to Scan Your Kitchen with iPhone LiDAR and RoomPlan

If you own a recent Pro iPhone or iPad Pro, you may already have a capable room scanner in your pocket. Apple's LiDAR sensor, combined with its RoomPlan framework, can turn a short walk around your kitchen into a structured 3D model of walls, doors, windows and major objects. This guide explains how to scan a kitchen with iPhone LiDAR, what you get from the scan, and where its accuracy limits are.

What LiDAR and RoomPlan actually do

LiDAR (light detection and ranging) is a depth sensor that measures distance by timing pulses of light. On Apple devices it sits in the rear camera module and works alongside the cameras and motion sensors to build a depth map of the space around you.

RoomPlan is a framework Apple provides to app developers. Instead of producing only a loose point cloud or mesh, it interprets what the sensor sees and outputs a structured description of the room. According to Apple's RoomPlan documentation, a scan identifies:

• Walls, with their positions and dimensions.
• Openings: doors, windows and open passages in walls.
• Objects: categories of furniture and fixtures such as cabinets, refrigerators, ovens, sinks, dishwashers, stoves, tables and chairs, represented as simple boxes with a position and size.

That structure is what makes RoomPlan useful for kitchen planning. A wall comes back as a wall, with a length and height, not as millions of points you have to interpret yourself.

Which devices have LiDAR

RoomPlan requires a device with a LiDAR Scanner. In general terms, that means:

Apple's lineup changes over time, so check the technical specifications for your exact model and look for "LiDAR Scanner" before you rely on it. RoomPlan also requires a recent version of iOS or iPadOS; keep your device updated.

Preparing your kitchen for a scan

A few minutes of preparation produces a noticeably cleaner result.

Light and surfaces

• Turn on all the lights. LiDAR works in low light, but the cameras that help track motion and classify objects do not.
• Reduce reflections where you can. Mirrors, glossy black appliances, glass cabinet doors and polished stone can confuse depth sensing. Closing blinds on bright windows also helps.
• Clear countertops of large items such as stand mixers and dish racks that could be mistaken for objects or block the backsplash wall.

Doors and openings

• Open interior doors you want captured as openings, or close them if you want them treated as part of the wall. Be consistent.
• Close cabinet doors and drawers, and the dishwasher and oven. Open doors can distort the shape of cabinet objects.

People and pets

Ask everyone to stay out of the room. Moving people and animals can create artifacts or interrupt tracking.

How to scan a kitchen step by step

1. Start in a corner or by the entrance, holding the device upright at about chest height with the rear camera facing the room.
2. Move slowly and steadily. Walk the perimeter of the room at a slow walking pace. Fast movement causes tracking drift.
3. Point at every wall, sweeping from floor to ceiling so the top and bottom edges are captured.
4. Get close to corners and openings. Pause briefly so the scanner can identify where walls meet and where windows and doors begin and end.
5. Capture behind and around the island or peninsula if you have one, so both sides are recorded.
6. Follow on-screen guidance. RoomPlan-based apps typically show hints such as "move closer" or "slow down." Respond to them before moving on.
7. Finish where you started if possible. Closing the loop can help the device reconcile its position.
8. Review the result before saving, and rescan any wall that looks missing or skewed.

A typical kitchen scan takes a few minutes. If it takes much longer, you are probably moving too quickly and losing tracking, or the room has difficult surfaces.

Getting the best results

• Scan once, cleanly, rather than patching. If a scan goes wrong partway through, restarting is often faster than trying to fix it.
• Capture adjoining spaces only if needed. Open-plan kitchens can sprawl into dining and living areas. Decide in advance where your kitchen boundary is.
• Note what the scanner cannot see. Plumbing inside walls, outlet positions, gas stubs and vents are not reliably captured. Photograph them and measure them by hand.
• Take reference measurements. Measure two or three long walls with a tape or laser measurer. Comparing them with the scan tells you how much to trust it.

Accuracy limits and why you must verify

Phone-based LiDAR is impressive, but it is not a survey instrument. Results depend on the device, lighting, surfaces, how carefully you move and the size and complexity of the room. Small errors of an inch or more over a wall are possible, and errors can compound across a long run.

Common sources of inaccuracy include:

• Reflective and dark surfaces that return weak or misleading depth readings.
• Clutter that obscures where walls meet the floor or ceiling.
• Simplified geometry. RoomPlan represents walls as flat planes and objects as boxes, so bowed walls, out-of-square corners and trim details are smoothed out.
• Tracking drift over long or fast scans.

That is why a scan should be treated as a starting point, not fabrication truth. It is excellent for quickly capturing the overall layout, testing layout ideas and getting a realistic 3D view. Before ordering cabinets or cutting countertops, confirm critical dimensions on site. Our guide on how to measure your kitchen covers what to check.

How OpenKitchen3D will use RoomPlan scans

OpenKitchen3D is an open-source kitchen and cabinet planner that is currently in development, with an iPhone and iPad app planned for the App Store. The intended workflow is to scan a kitchen with RoomPlan on a LiDAR device, then review and correct each wall, opening and object before planning. You can read more about the planned flow on the RoomPlan scanning page.

From there, the plan is that corrected walls become the base for parametric cabinet runs, with plan, elevation and real-time 3D views generated from the same model. Because scans are only a starting point, OpenKitchen3D is designed so that field-verified measurements can replace scanned values, and project data is stored in an open JSON format. See the roadmap for what is planned and when.

OpenKitchen3D is powered by OpenPlan3D, an open floor-plan engine that is free to use today at openplan3d.com.

What to do with a scan once you have it

1. Check the overall shape. Do the wall count and angles match the room?
2. Compare reference measurements. If the scan differs from your tape by more than about 1/4 in (6 mm) on a critical wall, adjust it.
3. Confirm openings. Make sure windows and doors are positioned correctly, including trim, which scanners often miss.
4. Add what the scan missed. Utilities, outlets, vents and soffits usually need manual entry.
5. Plan with clearances in mind. Use the corrected model to check aisles and landing areas. See our clearances and work triangle guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can any iPhone scan a kitchen in 3D?

Apple's RoomPlan requires a device with a LiDAR Scanner, which in general means iPhone 12 Pro and later Pro models, and iPad Pro (2020) and later. Standard, mini, Plus and SE iPhones do not include LiDAR. Check your model's technical specifications to be sure.

How accurate is an iPhone LiDAR room scan?

Accuracy is generally good enough for layout planning and visualization, but it varies with lighting, surfaces, clutter and how carefully you scan. Errors of an inch or more across a wall are possible. Always verify critical dimensions with a tape measure before ordering cabinets.

Does RoomPlan capture cabinets and appliances?

RoomPlan can detect common objects such as cabinets, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, sinks and dishwashers. It represents them as simple boxes with a position and size rather than detailed models. That is helpful for context but not a substitute for measuring the appliances you plan to install.

Will a scan show where my plumbing and outlets are?

No. LiDAR captures surfaces, not what is inside the walls, and small items like outlets and switches are not reliably recorded. Photograph and measure utilities by hand and add them to your plan separately.

Is OpenKitchen3D available to scan with now?

Not yet. OpenKitchen3D is in development, and its iPhone and iPad app with RoomPlan scanning is planned for the App Store. The underlying OpenPlan3D floor-plan engine is free and available today.