3D laser scanning is the process of collecting 3D data, usually with a laser line scanner. A line of laser light passes over the surface being scanned, and the shape of the surface distorts the laser beam, and with the aid of a camera, and triangulation, the distortion becomes 3D point data. As the scanner is moved across the surface, more lines of scan data are collected, and a resulting 3D point cloud is produced.

Software selection is important factor when using laser scanners so that the end result of either a solid 3D CAD model or a 3D inspection report can be easily achieved.