Artec Jet vs. Matterport Pro 3 vs. NavVis VLX 3

All three create 3D point clouds, but they are built for different jobs. Matterport is a stationary, tripod-based camera — the simplest, lowest-cost route into 3D digital twins and virtual tours, but with the lowest accuracy of the three and cloud hosting on a subscription. NavVis is a wearable mobile-mapping system you walk through a site with; it has the highest accuracy (about ±5 mm) and suits scan-to-BIM and surveying, but captures from the ground only and meters processing by area. The Artec Jet is also mobile mapping, but the same device works handheld and drone-mounted — capturing ground and air in one workflow. It is the fastest, with the longest range, around ±10 mm accuracy, and a one-time purchase where you own and export your data with no per-use fees. In short: Matterport for the simplest tours, NavVis when maximum accuracy is the priority, and the Artec Jet when you need speed, range, versatility, and full data ownership for large sites.

Not on its own — and it's an important distinction. The Artec Jet is a single SLAM LiDAR sensor, not a drone. On the ground it runs handheld (or on a backpack, pole, or vehicle), so it can take over the site and interior capture you'd otherwise do with a Matterport. For aerial work you mount the Jet onto a drone as its payload — so you still fly a drone, but the Jet becomes the sensor, with AI-assisted autonomous flight. The real advantage is that one sensor covers both ground and air in a single, consistent LiDAR workflow: capture what you can reach by hand, mount the same unit on a drone for what you can't, and process it all as one registered point cloud — instead of running a separate ground scanner and a separate aerial camera. Matterport (tripod) and NavVis VLX 3 (wearable) are ground-only and can't be flown at all.

Not on the headline number. NavVis publishes roughly 5 mm point-cloud accuracy in a controlled test, while the Jet lists about ±10 mm indoors/underground and ±15 mm in general environments, with ±5 mm change detection and an RTK option for georeferencing. The Jet's advantages are range (300 m vs ~50 m), point rate (1.9 M pts/sec), weight (1.57 kg vs 8.5 kg), and multi-platform deployment. Choose based on whether your priority is the tightest indoor accuracy or one versatile system for whole-site capture.

Matterport is a stop-and-go workflow: you set the tripod, capture for under 20 seconds, then physically move and repeat. SLAM systems like the Jet and the VLX 3 capture continuously while you walk (or fly), which manufacturers commonly cite as up to about 10× faster than tripod scanning on large sites — with the gap widening as the site grows.

Yes. SLAM positioning works without GPS by matching geometric features in the environment, so it functions in tunnels, mines, indoor plants, and underground spaces. Because LiDAR is an active sensor that emits its own laser pulses, the Jet also captures in complete darkness. It is rated IP65 for dust and water resistance in the field.

With the Artec Jet you make a one-time hardware purchase, process locally in Artec Twins, and export open formats (LAS, LAZ, PLY, E57) that you keep and control — with no hosting subscription, no per-square-meter processing meter, and no per-file export charge. By contrast, Matterport hosts your tours in its cloud on a subscription tied to “active spaces,” with raw-data export (MatterPak) as a paid add-on; and NavVis meters cloud processing by square meter using units that expire after a year, with every downloaded file counting against storage. For high-volume capture, that recurring cost difference compounds quickly.

The Jet outputs LAS, LAZ, PLY, and E57 point clouds with intensity, range, time, return, and ring attributes, plus optional RGB / true color. It processes in Artec Twins and can be merged with Artec Ray II terrestrial scans to combine full-site SLAM coverage with high-detail fixed-position accuracy.