alt Hacker NewsWouldn't it be much move viable (and accurate) using an iPhone with LiDAR? Recent models like iPhone 16 Pro are also coming with a USB Type-C port, can deliver some watts which is enough to drive a simple motor on a rotational axis. Significantly making overall hardware dumb enough that it will be much cheaper. (ie. Something around 10-20$ range for the rotary-station)
Could've been possible and even easier with headphone jack too.
the Lidar on the phone is only suited for medium/large objects (>50-100cm). but you are absolutely right about the lowest cost hardware option. The thought behind the scanner is having a self-contained unit which of course increases the cost.