Automated Classifications with Point Cloud software

What is Automated classification?

Automated classification is a process of extracting information from point clouds. Automated Classification is the process of extracting different types of data from a point cloud and then sorting or classifying that data into one of several categories. Automated Classification helps you to get rid of heavy workloads with little effort!

Point Cloud Software for Automated Classification

The most important step in Automated Classification is how you convert your point cloud to a digital surface model (DSM). Not all programs can do this, so it’s important to look for a program which does have this feature available. Also, consider the integration between point cloud software and classification software when choosing between different products.

What Automated classification result do you get

After Automated Classification you can get different data;

– Digital surface model with classified points

– Digital surface model with classified height values for each point, so it’s easy to measure slope steepness of the surfaces. You can also use this information for instance in a drainage analysis or to detect hazardous areas.

– Digital elevation model where classified points are set as different heights, so it is possible to analyze volumes and volumes distribution.

The most interesting part is that Automated classification helps you analyze your terrain with less effort! Automated Classification is powerful tool which helps professionals gain more time for other tasks at their job . Automated classification software uses algorithms already known from geologists that generate new inferences about the Earths’ crust , surface, and land types. Automated Classification is a very useful tool for anyone who wants to classify point clouds into different categories!

Not many software products can Automated classification process from raw data, so you have to choose tools which have Automated classification as one of their features. You can use point cloud software or digital photogrammetry software for Automated classification, but there are other kinds of software products which also have Automated Classification as a feature. Check out what kind of processing your selected tools can do before buying them!

How to do Automated classification work on point cloud software

In Automated Classification you can use different techniques with your point cloud data, but all of them work in a similar way. Automated classification is prepared in the following steps:

– Prepare your point cloud data for Automated Classification

– Automatically classify points from your point cloud data

– Create Digital Surface Model with Automated Classification results

When using Automated Classification process you have to know that there is no real consensus on how to get best results, and it often depends on the application and user preferences. But all  Automated classification techniques work as follows:

– It’s recommended to have a denser point cloud before Automated Classification. Clean your point clouds from outliers and low points density – this is where Automated Classification fails! Automated Classification requires known surface height, so it picks up random points instead of actually classifying the terrain.

– Automated Classification can be done using different methods, but most Automated Classification works by comparing every point with every other point. The software will then find out which points are more similar than others. Automated Classification uses ternary diagrams for multi-class classification and ‘slope threshold’ for binary classification. Terrain boundaries are used in all types of Automated  Classification, but Automated Classification technique differs depending on your Automated Classification software. Automated Classification can find out where to put terrain boundaries very precisely or more roughly!

– Automated classification uses the same techniques which are used for manual interpretation of aerial photographs. Automated classification ignores noise and outliers in order to get higher quality results.

What is point cloud software

Point cloud software is an industry term for computer programs which process point clouds. Point clouds can be generated by scanning objects with 3D scanners , drones, structured light systems, lasers , LiDAR etc… Point cloud data is often converted into a digital surface model (DSM), so it’s possible to analyze volume distribution and slopes steepness . Point cloud data can also  be used to make a triangulated irregular network (TIN) which is a mesh of triangles. Automated classification can classify point clouds into different categories, but point cloud processing often includes the following steps:

– Point clouds have to be adjusted for better results

– Automated Classification! Automated classification does all the work by itself

– Create Digital Surface Model from Automated Classification results

– After Automated Classification you can convert point clouds into a DSM or TIN which you can use for further analysis!

Point Cloud Software Tools You Can Use For Automated Classification! You can find many digital photogrammetry software tools, but not many of them have Automated Classification as a feature.