Laser scanning systems have gone through a major evolution in the past decade. After the initial breakthrough of airborne laser scanners (ALS), other types of laser scanning systems have emerged, most notably terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) and mobile laser scanners (MLS). While these three main types of Lidar systems together serve a large number of applications, none of them are optimised for fast and flexible scanning in challenging locations, rugged terrain and complicated urban structures. Personal laser scanners (PLS) fill this void and are now evolving towards compact, agile and flexible solutions for mapping complex environments. This article explains the new Akhka R2 PLS and illustrates its use in various applications.