PIX4Dcatch with RTK turns a LiDAR-equipped iPhone Pro and a centimetre-grade rover into a subsurface-utility documentation kit. Open-trench scan, cloud process, AR overlay, GIS publish — by the site team, not a call-out crew.
Absolute 3D accuracy with RTK fix
QL-A evidence on every recorded utility
Documented per crew on busy programmes
See buried networks through closed ground
Most subsurface networks were last documented as a sketch on a clipboard, often with offsets measured by tape from the nearest kerb. Decades later, that sketch becomes the pre-excavation drawing — and the next backhoe operator runs into a live gas main.
PIX4Dcatch with RTK fixes the source of the problem. While the trench is still open, the site crew walks it with a LiDAR-equipped iPhone Pro and a centimetre-grade RTK rover. Every pipe, joint, valve and connection point is captured in 3D, georeferenced to better than 5 cm, and pushed to the cloud before the bulldozer returns. The next operator pulls a digital, geo-accurate as-built — and avoids the strike.
Our PIX4Dcatch RTK subsurface workflow is in active production with the Singapore Land Authority and on-stage at the Urban Redevelopment Authority — a decisive endorsement of the methodology in the local market.
Easepect was invited to exhibit alongside the Singapore Land Authority under the “Geospatial Enablement for a Sustainable, Resilient & Inclusive Singapore” banner — demonstrating the PIX4Dcatch + RTK trench-scan workflow that SLA is now using in production for subsurface utility documentation.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority brought Easepect on-stage as part of an industry panel on geospatial infrastructure for the next generation of Singapore’s built environment — sharing the PIX4Dcatch RTK methodology, the field results, and the path to QL-A subsurface digital twins.
Mobile 3D scanner.
iOS / iPadOS app that turns a LiDAR-equipped iPhone or iPad into a precision 3D capture device. Photogrammetry + LiDAR fusion, AR overlay of CAD/BIM models, direct upload to PIX4Dcloud.
RTK-only network rover.
Compact RTK-only rover, 7 mm + 1 ppm horizontal accuracy, 16-hour battery. Pairs over Bluetooth with PIX4Dcatch on iPhone — favoured option for SVY21 + SiReNT users in Singapore.
Tilt-compensated full rover.
Multi-band GNSS with IMU tilt compensation — measure offset / obstructed points without re-levelling the pole. Pairs with PIX4Dcatch over Bluetooth and feeds the same RTK fix into the photo stream.
Subscription RTK on a phone.
Compact Catalyst antenna delivering 1 cm + 0.5 ppm RMS. Subscription-based positioning service. Plug-and-go option where Trimble RTX/CenterPoint is the existing standard.
Survey-grade smart antenna.
2 cm + 1 ppm horizontal accuracy with the FLX100 plus smart antenna. Pairs with PIX4Dcatch over Bluetooth — drop-in for teams already standardised on Leica field gear.
Helmet-mounted RTK head.
10 mm + 0.8 ppm horizontal accuracy in a compact form-factor designed for hands-free wear during scanning. Native PIX4Dcatch support.
From a 10-minute walk along an open trench to a fully-georeferenced 3D record — point cloud, orthophoto, mesh and AR overlay.
A LiDAR-equipped iPhone Pro plus an RTK rover walks the trench. Every visible pipe, joint and connection is photographed at survey grade.
PIX4Dcloud builds a dense point cloud, orthophoto and 3D mesh of the trench — all referenced to SVY21 and aligned to your project grid.
Pix4Dsurvey turns the cloud into vector features: pipe centrelines, valves, joint markers, manhole rims — straight into ArcGIS, QGIS or your asset registry.
After the trench is backfilled the crew can re-project the buried network through the surface — point the phone, see the pipes underneath.
Site engineers and foremen run the capture — surveyors review and sign off the final deliverable rather than attending every visit.
Documented case studies show 100+ km of new fibre per crew per year. Singapore-grade civil and utility programmes scale similarly.
Crew walks the open trench with PIX4Dcatch on a LiDAR-equipped iPhone Pro / iPad Pro plus an RTK rover. Imagery, LiDAR depth and centimetre-grade RTK position are fused per-frame as the trench is captured.
Multi-upload to PIX4Dcloud (resilient to patchy site coverage) — automated photogrammetric processing produces a georeferenced point cloud, orthophoto and 3D mesh of every visible utility before it's buried.
Pix4Dmatic densifies; Pix4Dsurvey extracts vector features — pipe centrelines, valves, joints, manhole rims — with full attributes. Export as Shapefile, GeoPackage, DWG or IFC.
Push the layer to ArcGIS Online, QGIS or your asset registry. Crews on later visits scan a QR / GCP and PIX4Dcatch's AR view re-projects the buried network through the closed surface — “X-ray vision” for utility work.
| Accuracy (absolute) | Sub-5 cm (3D, with RTK fix and well-distributed scan geometry). |
|---|---|
| Accuracy (relative) | Sub-centimetre on local features when LiDAR + RTK fusion is engaged. |
| Capture device | iPhone Pro / iPad Pro with LiDAR (12 Pro through latest). Android with ToF camera supported on PIX4Dcatch Pro. |
| RTK rovers | Emlid Reach RX, Emlid Reach RS3, Trimble Catalyst DA2, Leica Zeno FLX100 plus, Topcon CR-H1, Bad Elf Flex / Flex mini. |
| Correction networks | NTRIP / VRS — including SiReNT (Singapore), MyRTKnet, RTKnet.id, plus private base stations. |
| Outputs | Point cloud (LAS / LAZ), orthophoto (GeoTIFF), mesh (OBJ / GLB), DXF / IFC AR overlays, Shapefile / GeoPackage vectors. |
| GIS publishing | ArcGIS Online direct publish, QGIS, GeoPackage to any standards-compliant utility GIS. |
| Standards | Aligns with ASCE 38-22 (Subsurface Utility Engineering — Quality Level A/B records) and PAS 128 utility-survey quality categories. |
“The distance between the site and the office has never been so short.”
Robert Greenhalgh · Survey Leader
Ingenieurbüro Daeges, Germany
A southern-Germany engineering practice documenting 100+ km of new fibre-optic network every year with PIX4Dcatch + RTK. Eliminated repeat field call-outs, lifted documentation quality and now delivers georeferenced as-built data to the network operator the same day the trench is closed.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ subsurface-utility-engineering standard reserves Quality Level A for utilities that have been physically exposed and precisely measured. PIX4Dcatch + RTK in an open trench delivers that evidence digitally, with timestamped geometry and centimetre absolute accuracy.
The UK PAS 128 standard's top quality level, QL-A, requires direct visual verification with surveyed accuracy. PIX4Dcatch+RTK records meet QL-A when captured under RTK fix with adequate scan coverage. The same dataset can downgrade neighbour records to QL-B / C as needed for compliant utility surveys.
Independent Pix4D research has demonstrated absolute geolocation accuracy of better than 5 cm in 3D when an iPhone Pro LiDAR scan is fused with an RTK fix from an Emlid Reach RX or equivalent rover. Relative accuracy on local features (pipe diameter, joint position) is typically sub-centimetre. This meets the evidence threshold for ASCE 38 Quality Level A and PAS 128 QL-A as-built records.
PIX4Dcatch supports Emlid Reach RX, Emlid Reach RS3, Trimble Catalyst DA2, Leica Zeno FLX100 plus, Topcon CR-H1, Bad Elf Flex and Bad Elf Flex mini natively. If your team is already on Emlid for SVY21 / SiReNT, the Reach RX or RS3 is the frictionless pick. If you are on Trimble or Leica, keep your stack — PIX4Dcatch pairs over Bluetooth.
Once the captured network has been processed and exported as a DXF or IFC, PIX4Dcatch can load that file as an AR overlay. The crew scans a known georeferenced control marker (or a Pix4D Autotag) on the closed ground and the model snaps into place — buried pipes appear in the camera view exactly where they sit underground, projected through the surface.
Yes. The Pix4Dsurvey vectorisation step produces Shapefile, GeoPackage, DXF and IFC outputs — all standard formats for ArcGIS, QGIS and proprietary utility GIS systems. PIX4Dcatch can also publish georeferenced records directly into ArcGIS Online via the Pix4D + Esri integration.
No — they solve different problems. GPR detects what is buried under intact ground (Quality Level B / QL-B). PIX4Dcatch RTK documents what was visible in the open trench before backfill (Quality Level A / QL-A — the highest-evidence category). Most utility programmes now combine both: GPR to locate the unknown, PIX4Dcatch to record everything new with QL-A confidence.
Yes — that is the point. Site engineers, foremen and inspectors can scan trenches with two-day training. The RTK rover handles positioning, PIX4Dcatch handles capture, the cloud handles processing. The surveyor signs off the final deliverable rather than spending time on every site visit.
A typical PIX4Dcatch + Emlid Reach RX starter kit runs in the SGD low-five-figure range (hardware) plus Pix4D subscriptions. We bundle hardware, software, training and SiReNT setup into a single quote. Compared to repeat call-outs of a survey crew, payback on a busy utility programme is typically 3–6 months.
PIX4Dcatch, PIX4Dcloud, Pix4Dmatic and Pix4Dsurvey — the full processing chain from phone to GIS layer.
Explore →Singapore-favourite RTK rover for PIX4Dcatch — 7 mm + 1 ppm, SiReNT-ready.
Explore →Base / rover, NTRIP, SiReNT — the broader RTK setup behind every PIX4Dcatch project.
Explore →Easepect ships the kit (phone or iPad, Emlid Reach RX, Pix4D licensing), runs a two-day training and configures your SiReNT corrections — typically in under a fortnight.
