Point Clouds anyone ?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience with importing / working with point cloud files ?

In Autocad . Revit 2012 there is now an integral point cloud import feature and I am able to import .PLY files by renaming the file extension to .XYZ which then allows the files to be indexed and .PCG files created and subsequently imported with some degree of success.

I'm not sure this is even possible within AC14, but I hope it will be in AC15 - anyone know ?

Any info much appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Do you mean creating terrain from .xyz or .txt files?
If yes the use menu Design > Place Mesh from Surveyors Data.

[Anonymous]

Thanks.

It's more for laser scanning of internal room areas, just small stuff compared to large external areas but this method doesn't seem to like my files.

[Anonymous]

another user posted this and I reckon it is what you need

Master Scripts "Mesh Generator"
( http://www.masterscript.nl/01/product.php?id_product=37 )

at the least you can see how he formats the point cloud data to successfully import into AC with his example files

I've held off looking at it pending the Shell tool in 15...

[Anonymous]

It really surprises me that Graphisoft is so quiet on the topic of point cloud integration. 3D laser scanning is so clearly an important tool for building surveys and projects involving as-built documentation. Revit and Microstation both have existing solutions in place.

Several recent reviews of Archicad 15 point out this missing feature as well.

We are a long-time Archicad firm and have recently taken possession of a laser scanner - it's fascinating technology. Needless to say, we had to purchase an Autocad license to deal with the resulting point clouds. Now we are considering Revit, as it now offers point cloud support in a BIM environment. We would be thrilled for point cloud import to be available directly in Archicad.

Does anyone at Graphisoft know anything about near-term or future implementation for point cloud integration?

[Anonymous]

It looks like it can be done.

www.laserscanning-europe.com/en/tv/archicad/laser-scanning-software-point-cab-archicad-laser-scanning-floor-plans-and-sectional-view

[Chazz]

Michael wrote:
It looks like it can be done.

www.laserscanning-europe.com/en/tv/archicad/laser-scanning-software-point-cab-archicad-laser-scanning-floor-plans-and-sectional-view

I don't really understand that video because the imported documents show the wall thickness which is not something you would get from most laser/point-cloud scans unless you did the inside AND the outside of the building. Doing both is a lot more work.

My office recently hosted a presentation from Faro and I was stunned by the technology:

http://www.faro.com/site/resources/share/947

Then, a month later while on business in Melbourne I sat next to bloke at a bar (the Blue Tongue in the Elwood neighborhood, highly recommended) and he was the Australian distributer for Faro! --and a fascinating guy. Laser scanning is the wave of the future but there needs to be better ways to deal with the enormous volumes of data. GS must address this area.

[Anonymous]

This software is interesting, but it doesn't actually allow one to access point clouds within Archicad. Basically, it allows one to make to-scale image files of orthogonal views such as sections and floor plans. These images can then be placed and traced in Archicad (or virtually any CAD software), however the point cloud is never opened or referenced within Archicad itself. You cannot navigate the cloud, slice it, or snap to points within it.

[Anonymous]

afingret wrote:
It really surprises me that Graphisoft is so quiet on the topic of point cloud integration. 3D laser scanning is so clearly an important tool for building surveys and projects involving as-built documentation. Revit and Microstation both have existing solutions in place.

Many years ago, perhaps in 2001 - 2003 or so, there was a method to take point clouds from LIDAR, reduce them, and read them in to ArchiCAD via Alias/Wavefront .obj files. The point reduction was key. It was custom written software running on Sili Graphics machines. However, the outputted .obj files read into ArchiCAD quite well and I worked with them. The experimental group doing that contacted Graphisoft to jointly pursue that capability, I was told by the person doing the point reduction. It was dropped as far as I know and they did not pursue ArchiCAD. It was some guy working out of an obscure group called DoD.

Fast forward to 2011, and substituting laser point clouds for LIDAR point clouds, and resurrecting the import of .obj files which now seems to be missing from ArchiCAD -- one might conclude that it could be done. As before with LIDAR and even long before that in the last century with Renderman and Lightscape, point reduction may remain the likely challenge. Along with the will to do it.

[Anonymous]

A clarification: While we can save .obj files from the 3D window, that file type is not offered as a choice on the open menu. Perhaps IFC would work.