A newly developed CT scanner small enough to hold in one hand can now produce detailed 3D images of tiny fossils and archaeological relics. Researchers built the Xtomo-Cube, a device roughly the size of a desktop speaker. It weighs just 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds), earning it a nickname that undersells just how compact it really is.

Liu Baodong, a senior engineer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and general manager of the company behind the device, described the machine’s standing plainly. It holds the title of world’s smallest and lightest CT system, earning it the nickname “palm-sized CT scanner.”

The device carries a spatial resolution of 80 micrometers, roughly the width of a human hair. That precision lets it analyze objects ranging from snail shells to medicine capsules.

Squeezed into four liters

The machine draws only about 200 watts of power, low enough to run off an ordinary portable power bank during fieldwork. Liu said every key component, including the X-ray source, rotating platform, and detector, was developed and manufactured domestically.

The previous record holder for smallest CT machine was a German-developed device weighing 19 kilograms, more than three times the new scanner’s weight. Liu described the central engineering challenge as squeezing an X-ray source, detector, and rotating platform into a four-liter package while still maintaining fine imaging detail.

From 3 meters to handheld

CT scanning uses X-rays captured from multiple angles to build a detailed 3D model of an object’s internal structure. The first clinical CT scanner appeared in London in 1971, built by British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield. That original machine measured 3 meters (9.8 feet) long, could only scan a patient’s head, and took roughly five minutes to generate just two 2D images.

Hospitals today rely on CT scanners routinely to spot tumors, internal bleeding, and other injuries. Researchers also use similar machines to examine fossils, archaeological finds, and industrial components without causing damage. Despite those expanding applications, CT scanners have remained large and heavy. A typical hospital scanner stands roughly 2 meters tall and wide and weighs around 2 metric tons, while some industrial systems grow even larger.

Liu compared the range of CT scanners to vehicles, from sports cars to trucks, describing the new device as the compact car of the category. He said the goal was never to scan everything, but specifically to look inside small objects that existing large machines handle poorly.

The scanner’s compact size and relatively low-energy X-rays could also suit university classrooms and research labs. Unlike many commercial CT systems, its settings and raw imaging data remain open to users. That openness lets students and researchers experiment directly with how CT images are collected, reconstructed, and improved.

Aerial mapping crews have long faced an awkward tradeoff: fly low enough to resolve a power line, and a single mission barely covers a fraction of the corridor. Fly high enough to cover ground efficiently, and thin objects that matter most start disappearing into the noise. Ouster says its Rev8 OS1 Max native color lidar sensor eliminates that compromise, delivering twice the precision and accuracy of its previous generation for drone-based mapping.

The company announced surging customer momentum for the sensor. Payload integrators and drone manufacturers across the aerial mapping market are selecting it for utility corridor inspection, infrastructure management, and defense applications. Powered by Ouster’s L4 Max chip, the sensor pairs 256 channels of survey-grade 3D range data with native 48-bit color. That combination lets operators maintain fine detail even at high survey altitudes.

Twice the prior precision

The Rev8 OS1 Max produces low-noise point clouds with thin surface walls. It reaches plus-or-minus 0.25 centimeters of precision and plus-or-minus 1.25 centimeters of accuracy, twice the precision and accuracy of the previous Rev7 generation. Every sensor undergoes calibration across range, reflectivity, temperature, and beam angle before shipping, keeping results consistent from one unit to the next.

Tighter beam collimation gives the sensor a spot size up to 50 percent smaller than Rev7. That keeps power lines, wires, branches, and canopy gaps cleanly resolved rather than blurring into surrounding surfaces. With 200 meters of range at 10 percent reflectivity, that detail holds at the altitudes mapping teams typically fly, roughly 80 to 120 meters above ground. That range lets operators fly wider swaths and cover corridors in fewer passes.

Color at the sensor

Unlike conventional systems that align a separate camera with lidar data afterward, the Rev8 OS1 Max assigns RGB color values directly at the detector. Because color and geometry are captured by the same sensor at the silicon level, there’s no parallax between them and no separate calibration step. That design shortens the colorization work that normally sits between flight and finished deliverable.

Ouster’s Rev8 OS digital lidar sensors are designed and developed in the US. They comply with supply chain security standards under Section 164 of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The company also offers Build America, Buy America Act-certified sensors for government, utility, and enterprise operators with domestic sourcing requirements.

Built for harsh conditions

The sensor carries IP68 and IP69K ingress protection, 100 G shock resistance, and an operating range of minus 40 to plus 85 degrees Celsius. It’s built to handle extreme weather across multirotor and fixed-wing drone platforms. Stuart Landesberg, CEO of drone mapping company Seneca, said the durability rating has proven invaluable for fire agency partners operating in unforgiving heat and cold. It lets crews fly in conditions that would ground other platforms.

Frank Darmayan, CEO of GeoCue, said pairing the company’s TrueView payloads with the Rev8 OS1 Max lets it offer a compliant, high-performance option for customers monitoring critical infrastructure. Beyond aerial surveying, Flyability is evaluating Ouster’s Rev8 OS0 lidar for its collision-tolerant Elios 3 drone, aiming to bring native color 3D mapping into hazardous, GPS-denied industrial environments. Ouster is showcasing the Rev8 OS1 Max at INTERGEO in Munich this week, running September 15 through 17.