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LAS VEGAS – At the Hexagon 2012 conference, Intergraph demonstrated new technology that “enables you to fully leverage the wealth of information in point cloud data.” The centerpiece of the new functionality is the augmented viewing capability embedded in Erdas Imagine, which allows users to simultaneously view lidar spatially linked in 2D, 3D and as a user-specified profile that can reveal cross sections of the point cloud.
“Intergraph’s new functionality truly unlocks the potential of LiDAR, taking full advantage of its rich three-dimensional content,” said Steve du Plessis, global product line executive – remote sensing, Intergraph, in a statement. “You can open up these dense point clouds, see inside them and break them apart to reveal the information they contain to gain a new perspective of the world.”
Within the three new views, Erdas Imagine provides a range of options that the company said make it easy to understand and extract the information contained in the point cloud. Different filtering options allow you to view the points in dozens of permutations.
Further, the company said the profile view provides unique capabilities for analyzing point clouds. While the standard profile view is defined by a user-specified box drawn over the 2D view of the point cloud, you can also use a polyline vector to obtain a profile view of a longer strip within the cloud. Erdas Imagine can then automatically roam at a user-specified speed along this long profile view. These features are especially useful in the utilities market, where they can be used to inspect power line corridors for encroaching vegetation or other line issues.
Erdas Imagine’s new point cloud technology also offers a set of tools to classify, RGB encode, subset and filter your point data. The classification tool will enable you to specify criteria for automated point classification. Users can then leverage the editing tools within the 2D and profile views to refine the results.
“Intergraph is in a unique position to provide the leading point cloud solution on the market,” continued du Plessis in the statement. “As part of Hexagon, our portfolio includes in-house airborne and terrestrial lidar hardware technology from our sister division Hexagon Geosystems, powerful GIS analytics from GeoMedia, the world’s leading remote sensing capabilities in Erdas Imagine and lidar data management and serving capabilities in Erdas Apollo … Together, not only will our point cloud technology strengthen any organization’s LiDAR-handling capabilities, but also its user-centric implementation streamlines workflows so users can quickly and easily obtain the most from point clouds and maximize the return on your LiDAR investment.”
