Polycam: 3D generator — what it does, formats, and rights to the result

Polycam is a cloud service for creating 3D models and floor plans, focused on reality capture. It lets you turn photos, drone footage, and LiDAR scan data into digital 3D objects and point clouds, working through an app or a browser.

What it does

The service takes photos of objects, drone footage, and LiDAR scan results as input. The output is 3D models in the form of polygonal meshes and point clouds.

As described by the author, the export formats available for meshes are: GLTF, OBJ, FBX, DAE, STL, USDZ, ESX. For point clouds — PLY, LAS, Geo-LAS, PTS, XYZ, DXF. The developer's page also lists PDF, PNG, SVG, and CSV among the formats, but the authors do not specify their exact purpose.

How to use it

Polycam works as a cloud service. Access is provided through an app for iOS and Android, as well as through a browser. The service does not release its own model, weights, or source code, and local installation is not supported — all processing happens on the developer's side.

Rights to the output

The developer states that rights to the output are granted to users on paid plans. The details of usage for the free tier are not disclosed in the fact sheet.

Who it suits

The service is designed for content creators and freelancers who need professional 3D models and Gaussian splats. It will be useful for those working with reality capture: architects, designers, drone operators. It is not suitable for those who need a local open-source generator, the ability to fine-tune the model on their own data, or to work without an internet connection.

Polycam covers the chain from capture to a finished asset in common formats, but remains a fully cloud-based tool that depends on the developer's infrastructure.