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Point Cloud Display

Point Cloud Display

Owned by Omar Lamrani
Last updated: Mar 05, 2025 by Reza Mahmoudi Kuohi
2 min read

Menu: Edit / Annotation

VisionLidar offers multiple display modes to visualize point cloud data, depending on the available information. These options can be accessed in the “View” menu under the first section.

Available Display Modes

Color by RGB

  • Displays points using color data from the source file, typically derived from captured images.

  • Important Considerations:

    • RGB values from scanner images are often interpolated and may lack precision.

    • Objects like cars or leaves may appear on vertical surfaces due to image mapping artifacts.

Color by Intensity

  • Uses grayscale values (0 to 254) to represent the laser return strength of each point.

  • Provides a realistic, black-and-white rendering, often more accurate than RGB visualization.

  • Adjustable grayscale range settings are available to enhance visibility for point clouds that appear too dark or too bright.

Color by Class

  • Displays points based on classification values (e.g., ground, buildings, vegetation).

  • The Classes tab in the Explorer allows users to:

    • Show or hide specific classes.

    • Rename class titles.

    • Assign custom display colors.

  • Some point clouds come pre-classified, particularly those from aerial surveys.

  • Unclassified points are typically assigned to Class 0 or 1.

Color by Normals

  • Differentiates points based on their orientation:

    • Horizontal surfaces appear in one color.

    • Vertical surfaces appear in another.

  • Normals must be computed first (Menu: Analyze / Compute Normals) for this display mode to work.

  • If normals are not calculated, the entire point cloud will display in a uniform color.

Color by Scan

  • Assigns distinct colors to points based on their source file.

  • The Scans tab in the Explorer allows users to:

    • Change the color tone of individual scans.

    • Show or hide specific scans.

    • Translate and rotate scans individually.

  • Also retains intensity values within the color scheme.

Color by Elevation

  • Colors the point cloud based on point height (Z-axis elevation).

  • Useful for topographic analysis and terrain modeling.

Color by Distance

  • Colors points according to their distance from a given plane.

  • Helps visualize relative depth and spatial variations within the dataset.

 

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