Importing and validating Point Cloud data

Any referenced datasets can be downloaded from "Module downloads" in the module overview.

Transcript

00:01

LUCY KUHNS: Welcome to this course in Roads and Highways

00:03

Existing Conditions Modeling.

00:05

This course is Creating Surfaces from Point Cloud

00:08

Data in Civil 3D.

00:11

The first objective is data import and validation.

00:17

Before we get started it's good to know about some system

00:20

settings that can affect our performance when

00:23

using Point Clouds in Civil 3D.

00:26

There is a system variable called POINTCLOUDPOINTMAX

00:31

and by increasing or decreasing this number

00:34

we can affect the visual fidelity and the system

00:37

performance.

00:39

The default value for this system variable

00:42

is 10 million points.

00:45

The Point Cloud size slider can also affect our performance.

00:50

Smaller points give better display

00:53

but larger point sizes improve the system performance.

00:58

It's also important to understand about MMS and GRD

01:03

files when we're creating surfaces from point cloud data.

01:07

When points in a surface definition

01:09

exceed 1.5 to 2 million points for TIN surfaces,

01:14

then overflow cache files are created.

01:18

These are MMS files or memory mapped surface files.

01:23

If we're dealing with a grid surface that number is less.

01:29

MMS and GRD files must be in the same directory as the drawing

01:34

and they must be treated just like any other reference file.

01:38

We must use proper surface management

01:40

to avoid generating these files at all costs.

01:44

And there is a course in this collection

01:47

about efficient service management and surface

01:50

simplification.

01:54

Another thing to be aware about is this little tiny icon

01:57

in the upper left hand corner of your editing

01:60

canvas in Civil 3D.

02:01

This is the level of detail icon.

02:04

Why should you be cautious?

02:06

Because when you see the icon the level of detail

02:09

is turned on and you might not be

02:11

seeing the full visualization of the data representing

02:15

your surface.

02:16

Now let's look at the Civil 3D Solution

02:18

Workflow for creating surfaces from Point Cloud Data.

02:22

We begin by attaching the Point Cloud Data

02:25

and then we review and check for classification.

02:29

This leads us to the next step, which is a two way decision.

02:34

If the data is not classified, we can directly

02:37

generate a TIN surface.

02:39

And if the data is classified, then we

02:42

have a 2-step process that begins

02:44

by creating a Raster Data File and then a DEM type surface.

02:49

Once we have the surface in Civil 3D,

02:52

then we can clean up and simplify it.

02:55

Let's look at the first step in our workflow,

02:58

attaching the Point Cloud Data.

02:60

On the Insert tab we'll go to Attach Point Cloud Data

03:04

and we will browse for the RCS or the RCP data.

03:09

Here's where we expand the details about the Point Cloud

03:13

and this will tell us immediately

03:15

the number of points and also if the Point Cloud is classified.

03:22

It's important to show the details

03:24

so we know what methods to use.

03:29

After attaching our Point Cloud Data next,

03:31

we validate the geographic coordinates system.

03:34

On the Settings tab of the Tool Space,

03:37

we'll edit the drawing settings and on the Units and Zone tab

03:41

we want to verify that we have the correct geographical

03:45

coordinate system applied.

03:48

Now to double check this, we'll go to the Geolocation tab

03:52

and we'll turn on the Aerial Imagery.

03:56

When the aerial imagery appears, we

03:59

can easily see that our Point Cloud is accurately

04:02

located in the proper geographic location.

04:06

Next, we want to check the units, the scale,

04:08

and optionally, any control points.

04:11

Here we can see the marker for the control points

04:14

and now I'm going to zoom into our intersection area.

04:18

I'm going to turn on the 3D Object Snap

04:22

so that I can look at Point Cloud Object Snaps.

04:27

And we'll turn on the Node Object

04:29

Snap for our Point Clouds and I'm

04:33

going to use the Distance Command.

04:38

I'm going to pick the width between the two white lane

04:42

stripes, and then I'm going to verify that that distance is

04:46

about 3.25 meters, which is the approximate lane width,

04:52

so we know that the data is scaled correctly.

04:56

This is in the horizontal, I also

04:59

need to do this in the vertical.

05:01

In this example, we're looking at the overhead rail viaduct

05:05

and we're seeing that the distance is correct.

05:13

Now that we've checked our Point Cloud for the correct units

05:16

and scale, let's do a section and a slice

05:20

to look at additional details.

05:23

First, I'll use rectangular cropping

05:25

to isolate an area of interest.

05:37

Then I'm going to use the 2 Point

05:40

section to create a section line that cuts across this existing

05:45

building area.

05:51

Then I'm going to select on a section,

05:54

drop it down, and turn it into a Slice type section.

06:12

By manipulating the Gizmo and sliding on the z-axis,

06:17

I can bring the section into the correct elevation

06:22

to get the limit box closer to the actual Point Cloud Data.

06:27

Then I'll select on the section and in the right click menu,

06:31

I'll set the UCS to be aligned with the section plane.

06:36

Then I'll use the PLAN command and align the PLAN command

06:41

to the current UCS And this gives us

06:44

a section slice of our Point Cloud,

06:47

and we can see the very fine details of the existing

06:50

surface.

06:51

But we could also see the vegetation such as trees

06:55

and we can even see the roofline of the structure.

06:60

This completes the first objective

07:02

in the Creating Surfaces from Point Clouds

07:04

in Civil 3D course.

Video transcript

00:01

LUCY KUHNS: Welcome to this course in Roads and Highways

00:03

Existing Conditions Modeling.

00:05

This course is Creating Surfaces from Point Cloud

00:08

Data in Civil 3D.

00:11

The first objective is data import and validation.

00:17

Before we get started it's good to know about some system

00:20

settings that can affect our performance when

00:23

using Point Clouds in Civil 3D.

00:26

There is a system variable called POINTCLOUDPOINTMAX

00:31

and by increasing or decreasing this number

00:34

we can affect the visual fidelity and the system

00:37

performance.

00:39

The default value for this system variable

00:42

is 10 million points.

00:45

The Point Cloud size slider can also affect our performance.

00:50

Smaller points give better display

00:53

but larger point sizes improve the system performance.

00:58

It's also important to understand about MMS and GRD

01:03

files when we're creating surfaces from point cloud data.

01:07

When points in a surface definition

01:09

exceed 1.5 to 2 million points for TIN surfaces,

01:14

then overflow cache files are created.

01:18

These are MMS files or memory mapped surface files.

01:23

If we're dealing with a grid surface that number is less.

01:29

MMS and GRD files must be in the same directory as the drawing

01:34

and they must be treated just like any other reference file.

01:38

We must use proper surface management

01:40

to avoid generating these files at all costs.

01:44

And there is a course in this collection

01:47

about efficient service management and surface

01:50

simplification.

01:54

Another thing to be aware about is this little tiny icon

01:57

in the upper left hand corner of your editing

01:60

canvas in Civil 3D.

02:01

This is the level of detail icon.

02:04

Why should you be cautious?

02:06

Because when you see the icon the level of detail

02:09

is turned on and you might not be

02:11

seeing the full visualization of the data representing

02:15

your surface.

02:16

Now let's look at the Civil 3D Solution

02:18

Workflow for creating surfaces from Point Cloud Data.

02:22

We begin by attaching the Point Cloud Data

02:25

and then we review and check for classification.

02:29

This leads us to the next step, which is a two way decision.

02:34

If the data is not classified, we can directly

02:37

generate a TIN surface.

02:39

And if the data is classified, then we

02:42

have a 2-step process that begins

02:44

by creating a Raster Data File and then a DEM type surface.

02:49

Once we have the surface in Civil 3D,

02:52

then we can clean up and simplify it.

02:55

Let's look at the first step in our workflow,

02:58

attaching the Point Cloud Data.

02:60

On the Insert tab we'll go to Attach Point Cloud Data

03:04

and we will browse for the RCS or the RCP data.

03:09

Here's where we expand the details about the Point Cloud

03:13

and this will tell us immediately

03:15

the number of points and also if the Point Cloud is classified.

03:22

It's important to show the details

03:24

so we know what methods to use.

03:29

After attaching our Point Cloud Data next,

03:31

we validate the geographic coordinates system.

03:34

On the Settings tab of the Tool Space,

03:37

we'll edit the drawing settings and on the Units and Zone tab

03:41

we want to verify that we have the correct geographical

03:45

coordinate system applied.

03:48

Now to double check this, we'll go to the Geolocation tab

03:52

and we'll turn on the Aerial Imagery.

03:56

When the aerial imagery appears, we

03:59

can easily see that our Point Cloud is accurately

04:02

located in the proper geographic location.

04:06

Next, we want to check the units, the scale,

04:08

and optionally, any control points.

04:11

Here we can see the marker for the control points

04:14

and now I'm going to zoom into our intersection area.

04:18

I'm going to turn on the 3D Object Snap

04:22

so that I can look at Point Cloud Object Snaps.

04:27

And we'll turn on the Node Object

04:29

Snap for our Point Clouds and I'm

04:33

going to use the Distance Command.

04:38

I'm going to pick the width between the two white lane

04:42

stripes, and then I'm going to verify that that distance is

04:46

about 3.25 meters, which is the approximate lane width,

04:52

so we know that the data is scaled correctly.

04:56

This is in the horizontal, I also

04:59

need to do this in the vertical.

05:01

In this example, we're looking at the overhead rail viaduct

05:05

and we're seeing that the distance is correct.

05:13

Now that we've checked our Point Cloud for the correct units

05:16

and scale, let's do a section and a slice

05:20

to look at additional details.

05:23

First, I'll use rectangular cropping

05:25

to isolate an area of interest.

05:37

Then I'm going to use the 2 Point

05:40

section to create a section line that cuts across this existing

05:45

building area.

05:51

Then I'm going to select on a section,

05:54

drop it down, and turn it into a Slice type section.

06:12

By manipulating the Gizmo and sliding on the z-axis,

06:17

I can bring the section into the correct elevation

06:22

to get the limit box closer to the actual Point Cloud Data.

06:27

Then I'll select on the section and in the right click menu,

06:31

I'll set the UCS to be aligned with the section plane.

06:36

Then I'll use the PLAN command and align the PLAN command

06:41

to the current UCS And this gives us

06:44

a section slice of our Point Cloud,

06:47

and we can see the very fine details of the existing

06:50

surface.

06:51

But we could also see the vegetation such as trees

06:55

and we can even see the roofline of the structure.

06:60

This completes the first objective

07:02

in the Creating Surfaces from Point Clouds

07:04

in Civil 3D course.

Importing and validating Point Cloud data - Exercise

Task 1: Begin a new drawing in Civil 3D

Launch Civil 3D using the Metric shortcut. This will start a new drawing named Drawing 1. If you want to save it, you will have to give it a folder location and a name.
On the Settings tab of the Toolspace, hover over the drawing name at the top of the collections tree and right-click.
Select Edit Drawing Settings.
On the Units and Zone tab, verify that the units are Meters.
In the Zone category, drop down the list and select: USA, Colorado.
Drop down the list of available coordinate systems and select: NAD83 Colorado State Planes, Central Zone, Meter.
Verify that the Selected coordinate system code is: CO83-C.
Click OK.

Task 2: Attach Point Cloud

On the Insert tab, click on the Attach Point Cloud icon.
Browse to the exercise data set and select the file Development Area – Keep.rcs.
On the Attach Point Cloud Dialog box, click on Details.
Verify the number of points in the point cloud.
Review the other point cloud data to see that it is RGB and Classified.
When the point cloud is attached the view style changes to 3D Wireframe so the point cloud is displayed. Point cloud data does not display in 2D view styles.

Task 3: Set 3D Osnap

Select the Osnap icon in the Civil 3D tray, or type in OSNAP.
Select the 3D Osnap tab.
In the Point Cloud list, toggle on Node.
Place a checkmark in the 3D Object Snap On box.
Click OK.

Task 4: Check size and units

Zoom to the main intersection area.
Notice the white triangular panel point marking seen to the southwest side of the intersection.
Zoom in closer to see the white lane markings between the automobiles.
Use the Distance command to pick two points to measure the distance between the white stripes.
Use the F2 key to open the command line history so that you can see the length measurement.
Verify that the distance is almost 3.2 meters.
Navigate to the railroad bridge and check the distance between the bridge deck and the top of the pavement. This distance should be about 6.8 meters.

Task 5: Crop a small area of interest

Navigate to the area around the house and barn buildings in the southern part of the project.
Turn off 3D Osnap. Tip: use F4 to toggle.
Select on the boundary of the point cloud so that the context sensitive ribbon is displayed. Tip: try a crossing window selection.
On the Cropping ribbon panel, click on Rectangular.
Pick two points to define the area of interest.
Right-click and select Inside to keep the points that are inside this cropping rectangle.

Task 6: Create and view a sliced section

Select the point cloud to display the context ribbon.
On the Section ribbon panel, click on 2 Point.
Pick two points that cut across an interesting part of the data – for example, from the pond area through one of the buildings.
Click on the dropdown glyph and select Slice.
Use the sizing arrow grips to make the slice narrow.
Use the Nav Cube to get a SW view.
Select on one of the long edge of section lines to display the glyphs and grips.
Select on the 3D gizmo and then on the Z axis.
Slide up along the Z axis to raise the system to a position just under the point cloud.
Use the height of limits box arrow to lower the upper limit to a position near the top of the point cloud data. Moving the upper and lower limits gives an easier to use sliced section.
Select on the rectangle at the base of the section and right click to access the pop-up menu.
Click on Set UCS to section plane.
At the command line, type in PLAN.
Accept the default option Current.
Pan and zoom to the section view.

Task 7: Review classification in Section view

Select the point cloud boundary. Tip: Use a crossing window in a blank are just outside the slice.
In the context ribbon, select Classification in the Visualization panel.
Click on Color Mapping to open the classification color mapping.
Use shift select to select all classifications, pick on one on button to turn off the display of all colors. Click Apply.
Experiment with turning on and off the different classifications to see how they influence the ground surface representation. Make sure to click Apply to see the changes.
Return to the World UCS. Enter in UCS at the command line and select the World option.
Enter PLAN at the command line and select the Current option. This will place the point cloud in a top view.
Select on the edge of the section rectangle and erase or delete it. This will return to the cropped point cloud.
Select the point cloud and in the Cropping pane, click Uncrop All.
This drawing will be used in the next objective exercise.

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Importing and validating Point Cloud data

Importing and validating Point Cloud data - Exercise

Task 1: Begin a new drawing in Civil 3D

Task 2: Attach Point Cloud

Task 3: Set 3D Osnap

Task 4: Check size and units

Task 5: Crop a small area of interest

Task 6: Create and view a sliced section

Task 7: Review classification in Section view

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