2. Esri UK UC 2017 v1
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• What is Lidar?
• Systems
• Returns
• Sources and Formats
• Lidar in ArcGIS Pro
• Tools
• Hands-on exercise
• Resources
Session Content
3. Esri UK UC 2017 v1
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What is lidar?
• Optical remote sensing technique to create a surface
• Point cloud is generated
• Mostly airborne
• Applications are many
5. Esri UK UC 2017 v1
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Lidar Sources
• Open Data Portals
• Environment Agency
• Natural Resources
Wales
• Bespoke Data Collection
• Bluesky
www.bluesky-world.com
A
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Lidar formats
• ASCII
• Interchange file
• Header
No of rows / columns
Raster origin
Cell size
NODATA value
• Cell Value is height
• LAS
• Binary format
• Manage “Point Cloud”
• Standard maintained by ASPRS
Maintains attributes
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Tools for processing lidar data
• ModelBuilder
• Geoprocessing
• LAStools
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Hands-on activity: Process ASCII files
Exercise time: 25 minutes
• Use geoprocessing tools to
process EA ASCII data
• Use Spatial Analyst Extension
to process data
• Symbolise the lidar data
• View the western part of
the Isle of Wight in 3D
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Lidar in ArcGIS Pro Resources
Esri UK Training Course:
https://store.esriuk.com/product-category/training/
1: Getting Started with Lidar in the ArcGIS Platform
2: An Introduction to ArcGIS Pro for Newcomers
3: An Introduction to ArcGIS Pro for Professionals
ArcGIS Pro Lidar Landing Page
http://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/help/data/las-dataset/what-is-lidar-.htm
LAStools
https://rapidlasso.com/
11. Esri UK UC 2017 v1
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Ed Morris
emorris@esriuk.com
Thank you for your time!
https://epjmorris.wordpress.com/
@epjmorris
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/epjmorris
Notas del editor
Lidar is an “optical remote sensing” technique
Uses laser light to sample the surface of the earth.
The laser produces a dense sampling of XY and Z measurements which can then be used to create a highly accurate surface.
Lidar is primarily captured using an airborne device
Aircraft
Helicopter
Drone
Cost effective alternative to traditional photogrammetric techniques.
Lidar can generate millions of points per survey
Processed
Highly accurate XYZ coordinates which ultimately make up the surface model.
Produce a “point cloud” dataset
Can be Managed, visualised, analysed and shared within the ArcGIS Platform.
So… how does it work?
Quite simply the airborne lidar system sends a pulse of light energy to the ground.
The pulse is returned back to the lidar system where it is detected and therefore a distance to the ground can be calculated. This is known as the range.
When the laser emits a pulse..
Reflected off object
returned back to the sensor.
The object concerned can be above the ground or be the actual ground surface itself.
A pulse can encounter many reflection surfaces on its way to the ground…
- can be split into many returns as there are reflective surfaces.
The first returned pulse:
highest feature at that XY position
e.g. top of a tree, the roof of a building or even the surface of the earth.
This is known as the “first return”.
Intermediate returns
define the structure of vegetation
Last Return is used for bare earth modeling.
It is important to note that the last return may not always represent the ground surface if, for example, the pulse hits the roof of a building or the floor of a bridge on its way to the ground. In which case the last return is from the roof or the bridge.
Open Data Portals
Environment Agency
Open data which is “free of charge and restrictions”
The area covered is about 75%
different resolutions (1m / 2m)
products (DSM, DTM, point cloud)
different years – although the availability does vary depending upon the rea of interest.
The data is made available via the DATA.GOV.UK portal
http://environment.data.gov.uk/ds/survey#/download
Wales lidar data available through National Resources Wales and their Geoportal for Wales.
- Available at a number of different resolutions (25cm, 50cm, 1m and 2m
JPEG images
DSM and DTM
http://lle.gov.wales/Catalogue/Item/LidarCompositeDataset/?lang=en
Bespoke Collection
ASCII
As above…
LAS
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
More later (section 3)….
ModelBuilder
Iterators
Processes
GP Tools
Your exercise
GP Tools
ArcGIS Pro approx. 750
Parameters
Models & Scripts
LAStools
3rd party tools
Free-ish
EA supply a LAZ file…
not read directly by ArcGIS…
this toolkit converts into a LAS
TBX >> Tools >> Added to GP model – section 3