Point Cloud To Raster (Conversion)

Summary

Creates a raster surface from height values in a point cloud scene layer package file (*.slpk).

Illustration

Usage

• This tool derives a raster surface by estimating cell values through binning in which the point cloud is divided into rectangular areas that match the output cell size. The raster values are assigned based on the options specified for the Cell Assignment Type and Void Fill Method parameters. The Cell Assignment Type parameter controls how the values for cells that contain points are defined, and the Void Fill Method parameter controls how the values for cells that do not contain points are determined.

• When using the Natural Neighbors option of the Cell Assignment Type parameter to fill void cells, consider limiting the use of this option for point clouds that have a concave distribution. If this option is used with points that have a convex distribution, it may take a long time to interpolate between long void areas.

• This tool extracts point data within the processing extent to temporary files in the scratch workspace. The amount of scratch workspace required is related to the number of points within the processing extent. If the entire point cloud scene layer is processed, the scratch files will use approximately the same amount of space as the input.

• The points in the point cloud scene layer can be filtered on the Point Filter tab on the Layer Properties dialog box. When point filters are applied, only the points that are selected in the filter will be used for interpolating a raster.

Parameters

Dialog

Label	Explanation	Data Type
Input Point Cloud	The point cloud scene layer package file (*.slpk) that will be processed	Scene Layer
Cell Size	The length and width of each cell in the output raster.	Linear Unit
Output Raster	The location and name of the output raster. When storing a raster dataset in a geodatabase or in a folder such as an Esri Grid, do not add a file extension to the name of the raster dataset. A file extension can be provided to define the raster's format when storing it in a folder, such as .tif to generate a GeoTIFF or .img to generate an ERDAS IMAGINE format file. If the raster is stored as a TIFF file or in a geodatabase, its raster compression type and quality can be specified using geoprocessing environment settings.	Raster Dataset
Cell Assignment Type (Optional)	Specifies the method that will be used for assigning values to cells containing points. Average Height—The cell value will be defined by the average of the z-values for all points in the cell. This is the default. Minimum Height—The cell value will be defined by the lowest z-value from the points in the cell. Maximum Height—The cell value will be defined by the highest z-value from the points in the cell. Nearest Neighbor—The cell value will be assigned based on the height of the point closest to the cell center.	String
Void Fill Method (Optional)	Specifies the method that will be used for interpolating the values of cells within the interpolation zone that do not contain points. None—No value will be assigned to raster cells that do not contain points. Simple—The z-value of points located in the cells that immediately surround the empty cell will be averaged to eliminate small voids. Linear—Void areas will be triangulated and linear interpolation will be used to assign the cell value. This is the default. Natural Neighbor—Natural neighbor interpolation will be used to determine the cell value.	String
Z Factor (Optional)	The factor by which z-values will be multiplied. This is typically used to convert z linear units to match x,y linear units. The default is 1, which leaves the z-values unchanged.	Double

Python

arcpy.conversion.PointCloudToRaster(in_point_cloud, cell_size, out_raster, {cell_assignment}, {void_fill}, {z_factor})

Name	Explanation	Data Type
in_point_cloud	The point cloud scene layer package file (*.slpk) that will be processed	Scene Layer
cell_size	The length and width of each cell in the output raster can be specified as a string composed of the value and the corresponding unit, such as 5 meters. Supported units include kilometers, meters, centimeters, decimeters, millimeters, miles, yards, feet, and inches. If a unit is not specified, the linear unit of the input point cloud's spatial reference will be used.	Linear Unit
out_raster	The location and name of the output raster. When storing a raster dataset in a geodatabase or in a folder such as an Esri Grid, do not add a file extension to the name of the raster dataset. A file extension can be provided to define the raster's format when storing it in a folder, such as .tif to generate a GeoTIFF or .img to generate an ERDAS IMAGINE format file. If the raster is stored as a TIFF file or in a geodatabase, its raster compression type and quality can be specified using geoprocessing environment settings.	Raster Dataset
cell_assignment (Optional)	Specifies the method that will be used for assigning values to cells containing points. AVERAGE—The cell value will be defined by the average of the z-values for all points in the cell. This is the default. MINIMUM—The cell value will be defined by the lowest z-value from the points in the cell. MAXIMUM—The cell value will be defined by the highest z-value from the points in the cell. NEAREST—The cell value will be assigned based on the height of the point closest to the cell center.	String
void_fill (Optional)	Specifies the method that will be used for interpolating the values of cells within the interpolation zone that do not contain points. NONE—No value will be assigned to raster cells that do not contain points. SIMPLE—The z-value of points located in the cells that immediately surround the empty cell will be averaged to eliminate small voids. LINEAR—Void areas will be triangulated and linear interpolation will be used to assign the cell value. This is the default. NATURAL_NEIGHBOR—Natural neighbor interpolation will be used to determine the cell value.	String
z_factor (Optional)	The factor by which z-values will be multiplied. This is typically used to convert z linear units to match x,y linear units. The default is 1, which leaves the z-values unchanged.	Double

Code sample

PointCloudToRaster example (Python window)

The following sample demonstrates the use of this tool in the Python window.

arcpy.env.workspace = "C:\GIS_Data"
arcpy.ddd.PointCloudToRaster("GT_Mountains.slpk", "10 Meters", "GT_surface.tif",
                             "MAXIMUM", "LINEAR", "0.3048")

Environments

Current Workspace, Scratch Workspace, Output Coordinate System, Geographic Transformations, Extent, Snap Raster, Output CONFIG Keyword, Pyramid, Raster Statistics, Compression

Licensing information

• Basic: Requires Spatial Analyst or 3D Analyst
• Standard: Yes
• Advanced: Yes