TatukGIS menu

Blogs

LAS Format Optimization

LAS is a very popular format designed for the interchange and archiving of LIDAR point cloud data. LIDAR data sets can be really huge files which need to be opened wisely to avoid endless drawing or “out of memory” errors.

The DK TGIS_LayerLAS class enables opening .las and .laz files. By default, all points contained these files are read in progressive mode, so point-by-point, consuming the minimum memory. Different LIDAR formats are drawn using either embedded colors or custom styling.

Though reading a LAS file is fast, the drawing of millions of points by the renderer is a heavy task. TatukGIS, therefore, supports special modes a user can implement to optimize the process. These modes are activated by adding a special postfix to the LAS file path before opening the layer (sample data from
https://github.com/libLAS/libLAS/blob/master/test/data/autzen.las):

  • ?pc - opens as a point cloud (multipoint shape) for fast 3D viewing. In 2D mode, only a bounding rectangle is displayed.
     

  • ?pcf - opens as a thinned point cloud using a voxel grid filter. This decreases the number of rendered points for faster 2D drawing.
 

Support for the LAS format is available in the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (SDK) and desktop GIS Editor products. Read more about TGIS_LayerLAS class in the DK documentation wiki.

Posted: October 05, 2020
Filed under: 3D, DK, EDT