Organizations can make lidar point clouds accessible on the web by hosting the data on ArcGIS Online or their ArcGIS Enterprise portal. Users can then visualize the data using either the ArcGIS Online scene viewer in a web browser or a custom web application.
Scene viewer includes measurement tools that allow users to determine 3D distances (point-to-point, height, and distance on the ground) and rendering options that can be changed by the user based on elevation, classification code, and return value. Esri’s Indexed 3D Scene Layer (I3S) format provides support for hosting large point clouds.
To visualize lidar point clouds online, complete the following steps:
- Use the Create Point Cloud Scene Layer Content geoprocessing tool to convert the LAS points (referenced by a LAS dataset, or directly from a single .las file) into the optimized I3S format, which is then prepared for upload as a scene layer package (SLPK).
- Upload and publish the SLPK using either the Share Package geoprocessing tool or the web interface from ArcGIS Online.
Create the SLPK
In ArcGIS Pro, run the Create Point Cloud Scene Layer Content tool, selecting attributes to cache that are appropriate for the dataset.
Learn more about point cloud scene layers
Note:
Be sure to select Scene Layer Version 2.x.
If you are changing the coordinate system of the output, pay close attention to any warnings about the geographic transformation from input to output coordinate system.
Note:
The user interface does not provide the ability to a browse to locate and select geographic transformations, so you may have to find the proper transformation and enter the string that identifies it. Learn more about geographic coordinate system transformations and coordinate systems and projections.
You can also download the list of supported geographic and vertical transformations.
Publish 3D layers
When you're ready to share the SLPK, you will sign in to ArcGIS Online or your ArcGIS Enterprise portal, go to Content, and select New item ->Your device to upload and publish the SLPK.
Alternatively, you can run the Share Package tool in ArcGIS Pro.
Note:
You must be signed in to ArcGIS Online or your ArcGIS Enterprise portal before running this tool.
Visualize point cloud layers using Scene Viewer
Once the SLPK is published to ArcGIS Online or your ArcGIS Enterprise portal, you can view it from any web browser. Explore this tutorial regarding creating a 3D web scene of the city of Schiedam to try it yourself.