Classifying LiDAR Point Cloud Using Bentley Microstation Terrasolid and ArcGIS Pro Software Products

In order to obtain accurate 3D City Models, some of the most important steps are geospatial data acquisition and the processing of this data. Aerial laser scanning (LiDAR-Light Detection and Ranging) is one of the most used methods of data acquisition and the main concern is classifying the point cloud in order to assign a class to each point. The classes of interest for 3D city models are the ground, buildings and possibly the high vegetation class which may interfere with the buildings. In this article, we aimed to highlight the main steps that are necessary to classify LiDAR point clouds. We chose two software products, one developed by Bentley – Microstation Terrasolid Suite and the second by Esri – ArcGIS Pro.