A scalable and multi-purpose point cloud server (PCS) for easier and faster point cloud data management and processing

Abstract

In addition to more traditional geographical data such as images (rasters) and vectors, point cloud data are becoming increasingly available. Such data are appreciated for their precision and true three-Dimensional (3D) nature. However, managing point clouds can be difficult due to scaling problems and specificities of this data type. Several methods exist but are usually fairly specialised and solve only one aspect of the management problem. In this work, we propose a comprehensive and efficient point cloud management system based on a database server that works on groups of points (patches) rather than individual points. This system is specifically designed to cover the basic needs of point cloud users: fast loading, compressed storage, powerful patch and point filtering, easy data access and exporting, and integrated processing. Moreover, the proposed system fully integrates metadata (like sensor position) and can conjointly use point clouds with other geospatial data, such as images, vectors, topology and other point clouds. Point cloud (parallel) processing can be done in-base with fast prototyping capabilities. Lastly, the system is built on open source technologies; therefore it can be easily extended and customised.We test the proposed system with several billion points obtained from Lidar (aerial and terrestrial) and stereo-vision. We demonstrate loading speeds in the ∼50 million pts/h per process range, transparent-for-user and greater than 2 to 4:1 compression ratio, patch filtering in the 0.1 to 1s range, and output in the 0.1 million pts/s per process range, along with classical processing methods, such as object detection.