Forge Software Platform Uses iPad LiDAR Scanning for Quick Solar Design Proposals

Why It Matters

By delivering on‑site measurements and live proposals, Forge cuts days off the sales cycle, enabling contractors to win more business and scale without costly enterprise tools. The technology signals a broader shift toward mobile‑first, data‑driven workflows in roofing and solar services.

Key Takeaways

• Forge runs on standard iPad and iPhone hardware.
• Captures on‑site LiDAR data for instant roof measurements.
• Generates live proposals, reducing sales cycle days.
• First customer All Weather Roofing launched April 8, 2026.
• Solar vertical slated for later 2026, adding shading analysis.

Pulse Analysis

The integration of consumer‑grade LiDAR sensors into iPads and iPhones has turned a once‑expensive, aerial‑only capability into a handheld tool that field crews can use in seconds. Forge leverages this hardware to produce point‑cloud data at the exact moment a salesperson steps onto a roof, eliminating the lag inherent in government‑sourced datasets that may be months old. By embedding the Hyperion spatial‑intelligence engine directly on the device, the platform can translate raw geometry into actionable measurements, shading models, and material lists without leaving the site.

For contractors, the primary benefit is a dramatic reduction in soft costs. Traditional roofing and solar proposals often require multiple hand‑offs—field notes, spreadsheet calculations, and separate design software—each adding time and error risk. Forge consolidates these steps, allowing a salesperson to walk a property, capture a 3‑D model, and hand a signed proposal to the customer before leaving the driveway. This acceleration shortens the sales cycle, improves win rates, and provides a scalable solution for midsize firms that lack the resources to invest in enterprise‑grade estimating platforms.

The market implications extend beyond roofing. With a solar‑specific vertical on the roadmap, Forge positions itself to address a fragmented segment where contractors still rely on legacy tools and manual workflows. Competitors that separate scanning from design will find it harder to match the speed and convenience of an end‑to‑end mobile solution. As more contractors adopt mobile LiDAR for both roofing and solar, we can expect a wave of vertical SaaS offerings that prioritize real‑time data capture, driving efficiency across the built‑environment services industry.