Working with LIDAR

LIDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. It is similar to radar-based images but uses finite laser beams, which hit the ground hundreds of thousands of times per second to collect a huge amount of very fine (x,y,z) locations as well as time and intensity. The intensity value is what really separates LIDAR from other data types. For example, but the asphalt roof top of a building may be the same elevation as the top of a nearby tree, the intensities will be different. And just like remote sensing radiance values in a multispectral satellite image allow us to build classification libraries, the intensity values of LIDAR data allow us to classify and colorize LIDAR data as well.

The high volume and precision of LIDAR actually make it difficult to use. A LIDAR data set is referred to as a point cloud because the shape of the data set is usually irregular, as the data is three dimensional with outlying points. There are not many software packages which effectively visualize...