In Lidar News article titled “Experiencing Legacy ASTM E57 for Heritage,” Paul Tice discusses the importance of a standard archival format for 3D laser scan data. The sooner we standardize the 3D scanning file format, the sooner we can add 3D scans of historical locations to our archives. Standards are important in any industry to open up market access and provide economies of scale.
Currently the 3D scanning industry uses a variety of file standards including e57, las and pts among others. At Civil Maps, we have seen users upload a variety of file types. While we support las, laz, pts, txt, (and soon e57), we want to work with industry partners to continue to standardize these file formats.
With Civil Maps’ deep learning system, it is important for users to upload sample maps or layers in addition to their 3D scan data. The Civil Maps system then learns from the sample layers and replicates that process over the rest of the 3D scan data. Standardizing this file format and process will allow us to make maps faster from our customer’s 3D scan data. We are now working with our current customers to begin this standardization process. Please reach out to us!
With e57 being the talk of the recent SPAR conference, could it be the winning file format as it includes important meta data and imaging?