Geoweb3d Supports LAS Point Cloud Files
As of the upcoming Geoweb3d Desktop version 3.0, users will now be able to load native LAS point cloud files into Geoweb3d. No longer are large, dense point cloud files too slow or too big to integrate with GIS data for real-time visualization and analysis. It is now just another geospatial dataset, like a Shapefile or a raster, than can be fused together with all other datasets for unprecedented accuracy and detail.
Leveraging the latest in GPU technology, hundreds of millions of points can be dropped into the application and loaded within seconds. The performance, visualization tailoring, and analysis capabilities are amongst the best in the industry. It is clear that point cloud data will play an increasingly vital role in all future geospatial visualization and analysis.
At the most recent ESRI Users Conference, Geoweb3d was demonstrating integration with the NAVTEQ True Mobile LIDAR product. 400+ million points loaded within seconds and could be rendered in addition to city wide 3D datasets at highly interactive frame rates. Screenshots of the NAVTEQ Manhattan dataset rendered in Geoweb3d are below.
These datasets soon becomes erroneous for accurate analysis and are no longer true to the original data and geography. Analysis derived from inaccurate data is by definition flawed.
LIDAR datasets, together with Geoweb3d, can now change this and offer users requiring accuracy an exciting new alterative. Point cloud collection methods amongst Aerial, Terrestrial, Mobile, and portable Flash are becoming more abundant and cost effective as demand continues to increase. With tools such as Geoweb3d, the means to visualize and analyze these large datasets is no longer prohibitive to use. Economy of scale will continue to drive LIDAR data into the mainstream. Why would users want to continue to use inaccurate data?
Geoweb3d can fuse these datasets, both interior and exterior, with all other GIS datasets. This is the best of both worlds. Users now have pixel accurate visualization and analysis from LIDAR together with reach back for all attribution and meta data access that GIS datasets provide. It is a highly scalable solution and will increasingly displace sole reliance of traditional datasets for those users requiring accuracy and generally higher quality.
Users would never use an artistic rendering of imagery when aerial photography is available. The same analogy now applies to ground based geometric datasets.
Geoweb3d is committed to providing users a highly capable and scalable LIDAR visualization and analysis solution. Pixel accurate measurement and viewshed visibility analysis are supported in the initial release.
