Capture 3D Gaussian Splatting training data with your iPhone's LiDAR and send to your PC/Mac for training.
Splatcatcher captures everything you need for 3D Gaussian Splatting training in a single session — images, camera poses, and a dense colored point cloud — using your iPhone's LiDAR sensor.
IMPORTANT: Capturing requires the LiDAR scanner, which is only available on iPhone Pro models (iPhone 12 Pro and later Pro / Pro Max). Non-Pro iPhones do not have LiDAR and cannot capture.
Walk around any object or scene and Splatcatcher handles the rest. Each capture records the camera frame, full intrinsic and extrinsic parameters, and accumulates a spatially-deduplicated point cloud from the LiDAR depth buffer in real time. When you're done, export a ready-to-train COLMAP dataset — cameras.bin, images.bin, a colored points3D.bin, and your images — without ever running COLMAP or any other SfM pipeline on a desktop. Just load the folder into LichtFeld Studio (free), Postshot (paid), or any other COLMAP-based trainer and you're good to go.
Or skip the copying altogether: pair Splatcatcher with Forge, our free companion app for Mac and Windows, and tap Send to PC. Your capture goes straight to your own computer over your network — never through our servers — Forge trains the splat with Spirula Studio or LichtFeld Studio, and the finished splat comes back to your iPhone to view. Get Forge at splatcatcher.warp-gate.com/forge.
Features:
- Real-time dense point cloud accumulation from LiDAR depth with spatial deduplication
- Manual shutter mode with volume button trigger
- Continuous auto-capture mode with distance/angle thresholds and blur rejection
- Live camera-perspective and overhead point cloud preview during capture
- Tracking quality indicator with motion and feature warnings
- Loop closure guidance to improve reconstruction accuracy
- On-device pose refinement — an optional one-tap optimization pass tightens camera poses and re-aligns the point cloud for sharper training results, no desktop SfM needed
- Exports a standard COLMAP dataset with per-frame camera intrinsics and extrinsics, so autofocus shifts are carried through to training instead of averaged away
- Colored COLMAP point cloud (points3D.bin), written in the same world frame as the cameras for splat initialization
- One-tap export to Dropbox, AirDrop, Files, etc for transport to PC for processing
- Train on your own Mac or PC: pair with the free Forge app by scanning a QR code, send a capture, and follow training from your phone. Close the app once the upload finishes; training carries on
- Built-in splat viewer: orbit, pan and zoom around your trained splats on iPhone (iOS 27 or later; earlier versions show a preview image)
Output is directly compatible with LichtFeld Studio, Postshot, and other trainers that read the standard COLMAP images + sparse/0 format.
Requires an iPhone Pro model with the LiDAR scanner (iPhone 12 Pro or later Pro / Pro Max). Non-Pro iPhones are not supported for capture.
For outdoor splats, this has been great, and capturing larger areas too, I have been trying to find that perfect gaussian splat app, or build one, and both have failed. This is the next best thing to Scanniverse, and this one is free. I honestly wouldn’t even mind a paid version if it had some features I am dying for. Things I need implemented are 1. OpenGate capture 2. Frame Clarity Detection 3. No AI Processing on images 4. No Auto Focus (just wide open) 5. Highest Shutter Speed or at least adjustable for the environment.6. Probably my biggest win (remote or offline sending of the splats/point cloud) limited by the iPhone is a bummer, I want to be able to send it to my MacBook or iPad m4/M5 to capture longer7. Exportability for Colmap or other format, (PostShot) 8. I really really love Scanniverse (now classic) splat on-device processing, and I am almost certain that’s IP to them, but it would be awesome to be able to scan via wifi and let the MacBook or a powerful computer do the computations and the phone just be the viewport.9. Zip the files/folders before export, it seems to take forever to send that to a folder.10. Enable the entitlement to add the Application Data/Documents/Splatcam viewable in the browser so we can pull them from USB-C11. Keep up the great work, this is great and I love the Split View.
Developer Response
Thanks so much for the kind words, Gmanmini! 🤘🏼 We're working on an update to address many of the things you've suggested! We also believe with offline SfM we'll get much higher quality camera extrinsics.
Doesn't connect to computer
Drewt_my_horn
I installed Splatcatcher forge on my Mac but after pairing the phone and taking a scan, I am unable to send the scan to the desktop application. Checked my firewall, gave proper permissions throughout (I have an IT background so I do know the various places to check), but no luck. Not sure what's wrong, pulled up wireshark but it's hard to know what to filter on to troubleshoot. Cool in concept but it's not working so I can't really say much about it.
A Game‑Changer for Gaussian Splatting Capture on iPhone
Mk tempo
SplatCam is an incredibly well‑designed and thoughtfully engineered app that finally makes high‑quality Gaussian Splatting capture simple and reliable on iPhone. From the moment you start a scan, it’s clear this app was built by people who deeply understand 3D capture workflows and the pain points of traditional pipelines.
Developer Response
Thanks Mk tempo! We endeavor to keep making it better and better!
Wont even Start
Luiyo's
Won’t even start when trying to object mode with auto capture mode. Did start once only on the area option and when finally done wouldn’t even connect Splatcatcher Forge in the PC. Using Iphone 13 Pro Max
(Version 1.3.1)
- Send to computer works again: the Train screen no longer gets stuck on "Checking" your computer. If Forge isn't running yet, start it and your computer appears on its own.
- Swipe to delete splats: swipe left on a finished splat to delete it from your phone. Your computer keeps its copy.
(Version 1.3)
- Train splats on your own computer: pair a Mac or PC running Forge, our free companion app (splatcatcher.warp-gate.com/forge), then tap Send to computer. Your capture goes straight to your computer, never through our servers, and the finished splat comes back to your phone. Once it's uploaded you can close the app; training carries on.
- View your splats: orbit, pan and zoom around a finished splat right on your iPhone. The interactive viewer needs iOS 27; on iOS 26 you'll see the preview your computer rendered.
- Object or Area scans: pick what you're scanning before you start. Area turns off the depth clip, spaces auto-captures out to 30 cm, and keeps a coarser point cloud that suits a room. Each project remembers its type.
- Blur rejection learns your scene: each shot is compared with sharp frames taken from nearby viewpoints instead of one fixed threshold.
- See what still needs another angle: the live preview tints points red until a surface has been seen from two angles and yellow until three, then shows its true color.
Version 1.3.1
The developer, Warpgate LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
