Terrestrial LIDAR scanners are pushing the boundaries of accurate urban modelling. Automation and the usability of tools used in feature abstraction and, to a lesser degree, presentation have become the chief concerns with this new technology. To broaden the use and impact of LIDAR in the geomatics, LiDAR datasets must be converted to feature-based representations without loss of precision. One approach, taken here, is to simultaneously examine the overall path that data takes through an organization and the operatordriven tasks carried out on the data as it is transformed from a raw point cloud to final product. We present a review of the current practices in LiDAR data processing and a foundation for future efforts to optimize. We examine alternative LIDAR processing workflows with two key questions in mind: computational efficiency - whether the process can be done using the tools at all - and tool complexity - what operator skill level is needed at each step. Using these workflows the usability of the specific software tools and the required knowledge to effectively carry out the procedures using the tools are examined. Preliminary results have yielded workflows that successfully translate LIDAR to 3D object models, highly decimated point representations of street data represented in Google Earth, and large volume point data flythroughs in ESRI ArcScene. We are documenting the pragmatic limits on each of these workflows and tools for endusers. Terrestrial LIDAR brings with it new innovations for spatial visualizations, but also questions of viability. The technology has proved valuable for specialized applications for experts, but can it be useful as a tool for proliferating 3d spatial information by and to non-experts. This study illustrates the issues associated with preparing 3d LIDAR data for presentation in mainstream visualization environments.
Error analysis and point data processing of reconstructed surface by reverse engineering
