Quick Intro Download and use Freeware Esri Lidar LAS Optimizer
Quick Intro Download and use Esri Freeware for Lidar
(Esri LAS Optimizer)
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the feedback on the blogs. I will try to do better on Steve's 3D Blog on this 2nd try.
My second blog will be covering use of the Esri Lidar EzLAS Optimizer Freeware.
I borrowed the following from Gert Van Maren at Esri on the purpose of the Esri EzLAS Optimizer Freeware is to solve one of the problems with the LAS transfer standard. http://dld.bz/dvgua
"The LAS format was intended for data exchange, not direct use. One significant example of this is the lack of indexing. Because of this, any query on a file requires it be scanned, in full, to find the appropriate point records. As files get bigger and increasingly stored on networks, the cost of not having an index becomes prohibitive."
Even though the Esri EzLAS Optimizer Freeware does a good job at compression, I think it is a mistake to think of it as just as Lidar compression software.
What is the advantage of using this software in the ArcGIS environment?
Instead of providing a laundry list I recommend reading a great article by Gene Roe of Lidar News http://dld.bz/dvgvh
What I find useful is that after using the .zlas format I don't need to decompress the Lidar data in ArcGIS 10.2.1 (my current version is 10.2.2) to use it. Also, another great feature is this is supported in the Esri Mosaic dataset if you would like to create Lidar webservices using your Imagery skills, or creating geospatial products for CityEngine. This is great when trying to automate your workflows with modelbuilder or phython (still working on my python skills).
If your interested in downloading and trying this standalone Esri Freeware visit the following website LAS+Optimizer+(v1.1) http://dld.bz/dvgvN
Here are a few of my notes from using the tool in the past version 1.0 (current is 1.1).
I hope to have this updated soon, depending on spare time.