Latest Contributions by RedfredGarett

Thanks Kaleigh, This is an excellent post. I’d love to see these tests repeated with ArcGIS 10.1 to see what the deltas are between 10.0 and 10.1 performance on the same hardware. Thanks !! ... View more

If you're creating a mosaic dataset with your elevation data, you can add the lidar data. This data can be combined with other elevation data, such as SRTM or NED raster data sources. Lidar data can be managed within a mosaic dataset by adding the LAS files, LAS datasets, or terrain dataset. For example, you can add all your LAS files, from all your different acquisitions, and use the mosaic dataset as the single source for finding the data as it's needed. Using the mosaic dataset, you can also serve the lidar data as an image service providing access to the interpolated surface, or even to allow users to download the source files Steps to add lidar data to a mosaic Dataset First create a mosaic dataset with the Create Mosaic Dataset tool. In the Catalog window or ArcCatalog, right-click the mosaic dataset and click Add Rasters. The Add Rasters To Mosaic Dataset tool opens. 3. Click the Raster Type drop-down list and click one of the following: LAS LAS Dataset Terrain There are properties that need to be set when using either of these raster types, therefore, you cannot run this tool without setting those properties. 4. Click the Edit Raster Type Properties button Properties. 5. Click one of the following tabs, depending on the raster type you chose:     LAS   Las Dataset    Terrain You will likely want to modify many of these parameters. To learn about each of the parameters on this tab, see either:     LAS To Raster function    LAS Dataset To Raster function   Terrain To Raster function 6. You can accept all the defaults, but you must enter a Pixel size. 7.  If the pixel size is 3-4 times larger than the average point distance, you can safely use binning. If the cell size is smaller than that, you can try binning with void filling turned off. If the resulting raster mainly contains voids and only a few single data cells, binning generally does not produce a meaningful elevation raster. 8. If you're adding LAS files, you may want to check Treat each folder as a dataset. This will add all the files in a folder as a single item in the mosaic dataset, which is more efficient for the mosaic dataset. You may choose to check this option if all the LAS files in a folder belong together and have the same spatial reference. 9. You may want to modify the Cache folder and Number of cached surfaces as they will take some space on disk and need to be moved with the mosaic dataset if it's moved. 10. Once you have set all the properties on this tab, you can close the dialog box by clicking OK. If you won't be adding more data to the mosaic dataset, you may want to check Update Overviews. 11. If you won't be adding more data to the mosaic dataset, you may want to check Update Overviews. 12. If the coordinate system for the data isn't the same as the mosaic dataset, expand the Advanced Options, click the Coordinate System for Input Data button Properties and select a coordinate system. 13. Click OK. Now you can view the mosaic dataset in ArcMap, ArcGlobe, or ArcCatalog. Remember, the cache is created the first time the dataset is drawn; therefore, it will take some time before the surface can be viewed. ... View more