how to georeference LAS point cloud in Pro?

johnbrosowsky · ‎06-03-2021

Hi there -

I have added a point cloud .LAS to ArcGIS Pro and note that it has no projection or coordinate system specified, it displays around 0,0 on the map, and measuring distances such as buildings appears correct.

What is method in ArcGIS Pro to properly georeference the point cloud? For example I can pick out a corner of a building in the LAS file, and corresponding building corner in georeferenced aerial imagery, but can't find the right tool in Pro to move the .LAS layer.

Thanks!

JB

Tim_McGinnes · ‎06-04-2021

I don't believe there is any way to shift the point cloud in Pro. You could do LAS to Multipoint and then shift the points, but obviously you lose all the benefits of having a LAS file.

The LASTools las2las program is free and can shift the LAS files directly using the translate_xyz parameter. It's important to note that LAS files can also have an offset which can affect the coordinates. There's a good discussion on this page about the process: https://groups.google.com/g/lastools/c/oZqn0FgMLY0

An easy way to define the coordinate system is to create the appropriate .prj file alongside the LAS file with the same name.

View solution in original post

Tim_McGinnes · ‎06-04-2021

I don't believe there is any way to shift the point cloud in Pro. You could do LAS to Multipoint and then shift the points, but obviously you lose all the benefits of having a LAS file.

The LASTools las2las program is free and can shift the LAS files directly using the translate_xyz parameter. It's important to note that LAS files can also have an offset which can affect the coordinates. There's a good discussion on this page about the process: https://groups.google.com/g/lastools/c/oZqn0FgMLY0

An easy way to define the coordinate system is to create the appropriate .prj file alongside the LAS file with the same name.