LiDAR software processing developers - this link will download a list and description of LiDAR processing software currently commerically available. Please report any updates or changes to carms@geog.uvic.ca.

LiDAR VARS, system manufacturers, software developers - this link will download a list and description of LiDAR system manufacturers, software developers and VARS currently operating LiDAR systems and/or processing LiDAR data. Please report any updates or changes to carms@geog.uvic.ca.

LiDAR applications research overview - this link will direct you to a comprehensive listing of LiDAR research by application area and includes downloadable papers, presentations, and additional links.

Academic Institutions - LiDAR connections

Applied Geomatics Research Group COGS
CRESTech - Ontario Centres of Excellence
Dresden University of Technology - H.G. Maas Publications
Florida International University - International Hurricane Center
Forestry.lidar Info Page & Discussion List
Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya (ICC)
Instituto de Tecnologia para o Desenvolvimento (Lactec)
Mississippi State University - Dept. of Forestry Research, Forest & Wildlife Research Center - LiDAR Research
Mississippi State University - LIDAR Applications in Forestry
Mississippi State University - Spatial Information Technologies Lab
National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping at the University of Florida
OSU - Lidar Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Studies
Queen's University - LARSEES - GEOIDE Lidar Project Page
Queen's University - LARSEES - Laboratory for Remote Sensing of Earth and Environmental Systems
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) - Airborne Laser Scanning
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) - Department of Geodetic Sciences
University of Cambridge - Unit for Landscape Modelling
University of Central Florida - Geospatial Analysis and Modeling of Ecological Systems (GAMES) Laboratory
University of Nottingham - School of Geography
University of Texas at Austin - CSR Remote Sensing Group
York University - GeoICT
Arizona State
Idaho State University
Forest Public Access Resource Center (ForestPARC) University of Idaho
(NCALM) University of Florida / University of California-Berkeley
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Mississippi
University of Texas
University of Florida
University of South Carolina
University of Maryland
University of California Santa Cruz

Government LiDAR Resources

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
FEMA LIDAR Mapping Guidelines
Fourth International LiDAR Researchers Directory
NOAA Airborne Remote Sensing Equipment
North Carolina Flood Mapping Program
NOAA Coastal Services Center
Puget Sound LIDAR Consortium
USACE - SHOALS Program (JALBTCX - Joint Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise)
USGS Coastal and Nearshore Mapping with Airborne LiDAR
USGS Center for LiDAR Information Coordination and Knowledge (CLICK)

Associations and Technical Resources

lasformat.org -public file format for the interchange of LIDAR data
ACSM - American Congress on Surveying and Mapping
AGU - American Geophysical Union
ASPRS Lidar Committee
ASPRS - American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
AAG - Association of American Geographers
EARSeL - SIG Lidar Remote Sensing of Land and Sea
FERIC
GIAC - Geomatics Industry Association of Canada
International Glaciological Society
International LIDAR Mapping Forum
ISPRS
LiDARXchange
MAPPS - Management Association for Photogrammetric Surveyors
Remote Sensing (Open Source)
NSGIC - National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)
SPIE- International Society for Optical Engineering
URISA - Urban and Regional Information Systems Association

Software Tools

This list is limited to LiDAR processing software tools only - more comprehensive information on the software is available via the link at the top of the page.

Applied Imagery - powerful 3-D visualization tools to skilled LiDAR and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) surveying professionals as well as those users who incorporate LiDAR and SAR into their normal work as researchers, GIS professionals, engineers, hydrologists, etc. Users of LiDAR data require modeling speed, ease of use, data fidelity, toolset versatility and interoperability with GIS and CAD software.

Cloud Peak Software - LASEdit is a professional LiDAR data editing solution and quality acceptance platform.  The automated bare earth extraction algorithms, batch processing capabilities, and user interface have been developed with the needs of both data producers and data users in mind

Helical Systems Ltd. - Helical Systems Inc. expertise lies in the development of application software and libraries to support the integration, archiving, visualization and management of very large data sets (Terabyte) generated by swath multibeam, LIDAR, SAR, multi-spectral, satellite and photogrammetric imagery systems.

Intergraph

Merrick MARS (Merrick Advanced Remote Sensing) - MARS is a modular suite of tools for managing large amounts of LIDAR data. Users can manage field collection, production and workflow processes. The software supports both orthographic and 3-D viewing and navigation, graphical point cloud representation, and georeferenced image background display. The suite has tools for quality assurance, editing, parsing and reformatting LIDAR data sets. These tools include MARS Explorer, MARS QA, MARS Imager, MARS Import, MARS Edit and MARS Contour.

PCI Geomatics

RTV LIDAR Toolkit - SAIC - this link goes to the US Army Corps of Engineers Commercial Terrain Visualization Software pages. The RTV Lidar toolkit runs as an extension of ArcView and may not be commercially available.

Terrasolid Ltd - TerraScan is a dedicated software solution for processing laser-scanning points. It can easily handle millions of points as all routines are tweaked for optimum performance. Its versatile tools prove useful whether you are surveying transmission lines, flood plains, new highway bases, stockpiles, forest areas or for city models.

Visual Learning Systems - LiDAR Analyst - a software product designed to automate the collection of 3-D features from LIDAR data. It includes tools for editing DEMs, modifying bare-earth surfaces, automatically squaring building footprints, and editing complex polygons. Users can load LIDAR data (first return, last return or intensity); perform hill shading; and extract bare-earth surfaces, buildings, and trees. The software extracts attributes (e.g., building height and roof type, tree height and crown width) as well as features. There are also tools for editing data (e.g., spike and pit removal).

BC CARMS is grateful to Professor Gordon Petrie for sharing some of his links. Prof. Petrie's weblink page is located at http://www.weblinks.spakka.net/db/0 Professor Petrie was recently honoured by the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing with the 2006 Photogrammetric Award (Fairchild), for contributions to technology, innovation and teaching.

• Revised July 7 2006