The use of a 3D Laser scanner to survey can quickly result in a cloud of more than one million points; none of which contain any intelligence or reference information on the their topology or what they are supposed to be representing. PointCloud and PointCloud Pro from kubit allow the display and processing of point clouds directly inside AutoCAD. Every single point of a 3D cloud can be accessed (OSNAP) and thus be used in combination with all traditional AutoCAD commands. Furthermore, PointCloud provides numerous tools for an efficient analysis of 3D laser scan data.   Coordinate systems, polylines, planes and cylinders can easily be fitted to point cloud sections. Planes can be fitted and intersected to quickly derive the edges of houses or curbs. Corners can also be precisely determined using the intersection point of three planes. Full pipe-runs and routing lines can easily be fitted for pipe design programs. The results of such post-processing techniques can vary between 2D plans or 3D models.   The latest release of PointCloud Pro 5 extends AutoCAD by adding a photogrammetric, multiple image analysis. Three-dimensional objects can now be modelled using digital photos instead of scanned point clouds. Oriented images can be generated directly within PointCloud and then drawn on to get an image plan. Lines drawn on a two dimensional photograph are simultaneously displayed inside the 3D point cloud at the correct geometric position.

PointCloud license holders may deliver fully functional cloud files free of charge with the FreeEdition version of PointCloud. Thus, service providers can hand their measured point cloud data to their customers for further processing in AutoCAD without the customers having to purchase a licence of PointCloud.   Versions 5 of PointCloud and PointCloud Pro support AutoCAD 2007-2010 and all vertical applications (e.g. Architecture, Civil 3D). They run on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Prospects may try the software free of charge.

Further information on PointCloud 5 and PointCloud Pro 5 as well as case studies can be found on the homepage www.kubit-software.com or www.kubitusa.com.