Software Guide

Instruction for software configuration and operation

Date: July 2022

Written by: GeoSLAM Product Team
Notes
The software and hardware described in this manual is furnished under licence and may only
be used or copied in accordance with the terms of the licence.
Copyright © GeoSLAM Ltd. 2022
Revision: 2.1.1
Release date: July 2022

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication or the components it describes may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written consent
from GeoSLAM Ltd.

GeoSLAM Ltd. provides this manual “as is,” without warranty of any kind and reserves the
right to make improvements and/or changes to the product described in this manual at any
time and without notice.

SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS IS. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the

manufacturer (GeoSLAM Ltd.) and its suppliers disclaim all warranties, either express or
implied, including, but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose, with regard to the SOFTWARE, the accompanying written materials, and
any accompanying hardware. You may have other rights which vary from country to country.

NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. To the maximum extent permitted by

applicable law, in no event shall the company or its suppliers be liable for any damages
whatsoever (including without limitation, direct or indirect damages for personal injury, loss of
business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or any other pecuniary
loss) arising out of the use of this product, even if the company has been advised of the
possibility of such damages. In any case, the company’s and its suppliers’ entire liability shall
be limited to the amount actually paid by the owner of the product for the product. Because
some states/jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential
or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to the user.

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Notation

Information that supplements or clarifies text.

A caution that actions, operation, or configuration may lead to

incorrect or improper use of the hardware/software.

Italics are used for unique terminology and part numbers, and
Italics
for emphasis.

This notation is used for user interface controls and

Options -> Data
navigation.

This font is used for file and directory names, terminal

interface input/output, and output in the text section of the
/data/dd_mm_yy_xxx
main user interface window.

Revision History
Reviewed
Revision Date Description Prepared by
by
0.1 28/06/22 Working draft. KK JH
1.0 20/07/22 First revision. NH KK
1.1 25/07/2022 Final revision. KK JH

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Contents
Part 1 – Overview ...................................................................................................................... 1
Further Help and Information ................................................................................................. 1
Part 2 – Software Installation and Licensing ............................................................................. 2
System Requirements ............................................................................................................ 2
Software Installation ............................................................................................................... 3
GeoSLAM Connect............................................................................................................. 3
Upgrading the Software .................................................................................................. 5
Uninstalling GeoSLAM Connect ..................................................................................... 6
Licence Manager .................................................................................................................... 6
Activation ............................................................................................................................ 7
Login to GeoSLAM Connect ........................................................................................ 9
Deactivation ...................................................................................................................... 10
Licence Details ................................................................................................................. 12
Part 3 – Process SLAM Workflow ........................................................................................... 14
Step 1: Create a New Project .............................................................................................. 15
Step 2: Data Selection ......................................................................................................... 15
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters................................................................................ 16
Step 3-1: Export Format ................................................................................................... 16
Step 3-2: Export Decimation ............................................................................................ 16
Step 3-3: SLAM Processing Type .................................................................................... 17
Step 3-4: Filter Options..................................................................................................... 17
Step 4: Data Processing ...................................................................................................... 18
Step 5: Data Visualisation .................................................................................................... 18
Part 4 – Program Interface ...................................................................................................... 20
Login to GeoSLAM Connect ................................................................................................ 20
File Formats ...................................................................................................................... 20
Program Window .................................................................................................................. 21
Main Window Layout ............................................................................................................ 21
Panel 1 – Toolbar ............................................................................................................. 23
Project tab ..................................................................................................................... 23
Creating a New Project .............................................................................................. 24
Opening an existing project ....................................................................................... 24
Delete a project.......................................................................................................... 25
Closing the current project......................................................................................... 25
Changing the current workflow .................................................................................. 25
SLAM tab ...................................................................................................................... 26
Filters tab ...................................................................................................................... 26
ZEB Vision tab .............................................................................................................. 26
Export tab ...................................................................................................................... 27
Views tab....................................................................................................................... 27

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 Save a New View....................................................................................................... 28
Delete a View ............................................................................................................. 28
Loading a View .......................................................................................................... 28
Panel 2 – Workflow Tool .................................................................................................. 28
Panel 3 – Project Tree ...................................................................................................... 29
Data tab ......................................................................................................................... 29
GeoSLAM Draw ............................................................................................................ 30
Results tab .................................................................................................................... 30
Reports tab.................................................................................................................... 31
Workflow Status ............................................................................................................ 31
Panel 4 – Data Viewer ...................................................................................................... 32
Navigation ..................................................................................................................... 32
Viewer toolbars ............................................................................................................. 33
Primary Tools toolbar................................................................................................. 34
Point Tools toolbar ..................................................................................................... 36
Measurement Tools toolbar ....................................................................................... 37
Mini-map .................................................................................................................... 38
Panorama mode ........................................................................................................... 38
Measurement toolbar ................................................................................................. 40
Navigation .................................................................................................................. 40
Panorama Details dialog ........................................................................................... 41
Panel 5 - System Settings ................................................................................................ 43
Generate Report ........................................................................................................... 43
Processing History ........................................................................................................ 44
Settings ......................................................................................................................... 45
Application Settings ................................................................................................... 46
Logout ........................................................................................................................ 47
About .......................................................................................................................... 47
Part 5 – Technical Background ............................................................................................... 48
Capture Techniques ............................................................................................................. 48
The Environment .............................................................................................................. 48
Loop Closure .................................................................................................................... 48
Transitioning Between Environments .............................................................................. 49
Scanning Speed ............................................................................................................... 49
Duration Of Scanning ....................................................................................................... 49
Moving Objects in The Environment ................................................................................ 49
Appendix A – Re-Process SLAM Workflow ............................................................................ 50
Re-Process SLAM workflow interface ................................................................................. 51
Running the Workflow .......................................................................................................... 52

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 Step 1-1: Select Re-Process SLAM option ...................................................................... 52
Step 1-2: Edit local Processing Parameters .................................................................... 52
Step 1-3: Edit bounding box values ................................................................................. 52
Step 1-4: Horizon/Revo options ....................................................................................... 53
Step 1-5: Edit global processing parameters ................................................................... 53
Advanced Processing Parameters ...................................................................................... 53
Appendix B – Filtering Workflow.............................................................................................. 55
Filters workflow interface...................................................................................................... 55
Running the workflow ........................................................................................................... 56
Step 1-1: Selecting the workflow ...................................................................................... 56
Step 1-2: Importing Data .................................................................................................. 57
Step 1-3: Processing Settings .......................................................................................... 57
Outlier Filter................................................................................................................... 57
Thinning Filter ............................................................................................................... 58
Range Filter................................................................................................................... 58
Noise Filter .................................................................................................................... 59
Transient Filter .............................................................................................................. 60
Step 1-4: Processing Data ............................................................................................... 60
Appendix C – ZEB Vision Workflow ........................................................................................ 61
Processing Steps ................................................................................................................. 61
Process SLAM .................................................................................................................. 61
Vision-Stitcher................................................................................................................... 62
Image position creator ...................................................................................................... 62
Colouriser ......................................................................................................................... 63
Applying a mask............................................................................................................ 63
Methods for Vision Processing ............................................................................................ 63
Method 1: Running Each Module Separately .................................................................. 64
Process SLAM .............................................................................................................. 65
Step 1: Create a New Project .................................................................................... 65
Step 2: Data Selection ............................................................................................... 66
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters ..................................................................... 66
Step 4: Data Processing ............................................................................................ 68
Step 5: Data Visualisation ......................................................................................... 69
ZEB Vision Image Stitching .......................................................................................... 69
Calculate ZEB Vision camera positions ....................................................................... 71
Colourise cloud using ZEB Vision ................................................................................ 73
Method 2: Using the Process SLAM (GS-Vision) Workflow ............................................ 77
Step 1: Create a New Project ....................................................................................... 78
Step 2: Data Selection .................................................................................................. 79
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters ........................................................................ 80
Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type ............................................................................. 80

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 Step 3-2: Spatial Decimation ..................................................................................... 81
Step 3-3: Select Vision Data...................................................................................... 81
Step 3-4: Define Vision processing parameters........................................................ 81
Step 4: Data Processing ............................................................................................... 82
Step 5: Data Visualisation............................................................................................. 82
Method 3: Using the Process SLAM (Colourise with GS-Vision) Workflow .................... 83
Step 1: Create a New Project ....................................................................................... 84
Step 2: Data Selection .................................................................................................. 85
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters ........................................................................ 86
Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type ............................................................................. 86
Step 3-2: Spatial Decimation ..................................................................................... 87
Step 3-3: Select Vision Data...................................................................................... 87
Step 3-4: Define Vision processing parameters........................................................ 87
Step 4: Data Processing ............................................................................................... 88
Step 5: Data Visualisation............................................................................................. 89
Appendix D – Export Workflow ................................................................................................ 90
Export workflow interface ..................................................................................................... 90
Running the workflow ........................................................................................................... 91
Step 1: Select input cloud................................................................................................. 91
Step 2: Select format to export ......................................................................................... 91
Step 3: Select output directory ......................................................................................... 91
Appendix E – Floorslices Workflow ......................................................................................... 92
Floorslices workflow interface .............................................................................................. 92
Outputs ................................................................................................................................. 93
Running the workflow ........................................................................................................... 94
Step 1: Create a New Project ........................................................................................... 94
Step 2: Data Selection ...................................................................................................... 95
Step 3: Define Processing and Export Parameters ......................................................... 96
Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type ................................................................................ 96
Step 3-2: Floor Thickness ............................................................................................. 97
Step 3-3: Floor Offset ................................................................................................... 97
Step 3-4: Filter Options ................................................................................................. 97
Step 3-5: Export Format ............................................................................................... 97
Step 4: Data Processing................................................................................................... 98
Step 5: Data Visualisation ................................................................................................ 98
Appendix F – Closed Loop Georeferencing Workflow ............................................................ 99
Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow interface ............................................................... 100
Running the workflow ......................................................................................................... 100
Step 1: Create a New Project ......................................................................................... 100
Step 2: Data Selection .................................................................................................... 101
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters .......................................................................... 102

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 Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type .............................................................................. 102
Step 3-2: Input GNSS Data ........................................................................................ 103
Step 3-3: Define EPSG code of Export ...................................................................... 103
Step 3-4: Define Accuracy Threshold ......................................................................... 103
Step 3-5: Define Format of input GNSS Data ............................................................ 103
Step 3-6: Export file format ......................................................................................... 104
Step 4: Data Processing................................................................................................. 104
Step 5: Data Visualisation .............................................................................................. 104
Input file formats ................................................................................................................. 105
Requirements ................................................................................................................. 105
Trimble Catalyst Files ................................................................................................. 106
NMEA files .................................................................................................................. 106
Stonex Files ................................................................................................................ 107
Topcon Files................................................................................................................ 107
Appendix G – Stop and Go Alignment .................................................................................. 108
Stop and Go Alignment workflow interface ........................................................................ 108
Inputs .................................................................................................................................. 109
Running the workflow ......................................................................................................... 109
Step 1: Create a New Project ......................................................................................... 109
Step 2: Data Selection .................................................................................................... 110
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters .......................................................................... 111
Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type .............................................................................. 111
Step 3-2: Export Decimation ....................................................................................... 112
Step 3-3: Export Format ............................................................................................. 112
Step 4: Data Processing................................................................................................. 112
Step 5: Data Visualisation .............................................................................................. 113
Appendix H – Stop and Go Georeferencing.......................................................................... 114
Transformation Methods .................................................................................................... 114
Rigid Transformation ...................................................................................................... 114
Non-Rigid Transformation .............................................................................................. 114
Stop and Go Alignment workflow interface ........................................................................ 115
Inputs .................................................................................................................................. 116
Control point file .............................................................................................................. 116
Outputs ............................................................................................................................... 116
Exported accuracy report ............................................................................................... 116
Running the workflow ......................................................................................................... 117
Step 1: Create a New Project ......................................................................................... 117
Step 2: Data Selection .................................................................................................... 118
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters .......................................................................... 119
Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type .............................................................................. 119
Step 3-2: Load the Control Points .............................................................................. 120
Step 3-3: Define the transformation type.................................................................... 120

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 Step 3-4: Spatial Decimation ...................................................................................... 120
Step 3-5: Camera Attached ........................................................................................ 120
Step 3-6: Export Format ............................................................................................. 120
Step 4: Data Processing................................................................................................. 120
Step 5: Data Visualisation .............................................................................................. 121
Appendix I – Volumes ............................................................................................................ 122
Volumes Processing .......................................................................................................... 123
Volumes workflow interface............................................................................................ 123
Running the workflow ..................................................................................................... 124
Step 1: Create a New Project ..................................................................................... 124
Step 2: Data Selection ................................................................................................ 125
Step 3: Define Processing Parameters ...................................................................... 125
Step 3-1: Spatial Decimation ................................................................................... 126
Step 3-2: SLAM Processing Type ........................................................................... 126
Step 3-3: Range filter lower limit ............................................................................. 127
Step 3-4: Range filter upper limit ............................................................................. 127
Step 3-5: Define output directory............................................................................. 127
Step 4: Data Processing ............................................................................................. 127
Step 5: Data Visualisation........................................................................................... 128
Volumes Locate Processing .............................................................................................. 128
Volumes workflow interface............................................................................................ 128
Running the workflow ..................................................................................................... 129
Step 1: Create a New Project ..................................................................................... 129
Step 2: Data Selection ................................................................................................ 130
Step 3: Define Parameters ......................................................................................... 131
Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type ........................................................................... 131
Step 3-2: Spatial Decimation ................................................................................... 132
Step 3-3: Range filter lower limit ............................................................................. 132
Step 3-4: Range filter upper limit ............................................................................. 132
Step 3-5: Define Format of input GNSS Data ......................................................... 132
Step 3-6: Input GNSS Data ..................................................................................... 132
Step 3-7: Define EPSG code of Export ................................................................... 132
Step 3-8: Define Accuracy Threshold ..................................................................... 132
Step 3-9: Define output directory............................................................................. 133
Step 4: Data Processing ............................................................................................. 133
Step 5: Data Visualisation........................................................................................... 133
Appendix J – Change Detection ............................................................................................ 135
Change Detection workflow interface ................................................................................ 135

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 Outputs ............................................................................................................................... 136
Running the workflow ......................................................................................................... 137
Step 1: Create a New Project ......................................................................................... 137
Step 2: Data Selection .................................................................................................... 138
Step 3: Define Parameters ............................................................................................. 138
Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type .............................................................................. 139
Step 3-2: Export Format ............................................................................................. 140
Step 4: Data Processing................................................................................................. 140
Step 5: Data Visualisation .............................................................................................. 140

List of Figures
Figure 1. GeoSLAM Connect install options. ............................................................................ 3
Figure 2. GeoSLAM Connect Licence Agreement. ................................................................... 4
Figure 3. GeoSLAM Connect Release Notes. .......................................................................... 4
Figure 4. Ready to Install. .......................................................................................................... 5
Figure 5. GeoSLAM Connect Setup Confirmation. ................................................................... 5
Figure 6. GeoSLAM Licence Manager. ..................................................................................... 7
Figure 7. GeoSLAM Licence Manager Settings dialog. ............................................................ 8
Figure 8. GeoSLAM Licence Manager Activation dialog. ......................................................... 8
Figure 9. Online Activation successful. ..................................................................................... 9
Figure 10. GeoSLAM Connect log in dialog. ........................................................................... 10
Figure 11. Deactivating a licence using the GeoSLAM Licence Manager. ............................ 11
Figure 12. Online Deactivation successful. ............................................................................. 12
Figure 13. Accessing the licence features. ............................................................................. 13
Figure 14. Current licence features. ........................................................................................ 13
Figure 15. GeoSLAM Connect 2.1.1 Process SLAM user workflow....................................... 14
Figure 16. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ............................................................. 15
Figure 17. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. ...................................................... 15
Figure 18. Step 3: Processing parameters. ............................................................................. 16
Figure 19. Step 4: Data Processing workflow. ........................................................................ 18
Figure 20. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. ...................................................................... 18
Figure 21. GeoSLAM Connect log in dialog. ........................................................................... 20
Figure 22. Main GeoSLAM Connect screen with no project open.......................................... 21
Figure 23. An open project with no data imported. ................................................................. 22
Figure 24. An open project with data imported. ...................................................................... 22
Figure 25. New Project Creation Dialog. ................................................................................. 24
Figure 26. Open Project Dropdown. ........................................................................................ 25
Figure 27. Workflow Options menu, allows users to alter the current workflow. .................... 26
Figure 28. Add New View dialog. ............................................................................................ 28
Figure 29. Drop or browse data tool. ....................................................................................... 28
Figure 30. Data tab. a) Multiple datasets added to the project, b) the additional options tab and
c) Right-Click options ............................................................................................................... 29
Figure 31. View processed data in the Data tab. .................................................................... 30
Figure 32. View output reports in the Reports tab. ................................................................. 31

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Figure 33. Processing status. .................................................................................................. 31
Figure 34. GeoSLAM Connect Viewer Tools. ......................................................................... 32
Figure 35. Viewer toolbars. ...................................................................................................... 33
Figure 36. Defining the intensity range.................................................................................... 35
Figure 37. Adjust the intensity range. ...................................................................................... 36
Figure 38. Example line measurement.................................................................................... 38
Figure 39. ZEB Vision image positions displayed in the viewer. ............................................ 39
Figure 40. Panoramic mode. Point cloud (coloured by elevation) underlain by panoramic
imagery. ................................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 41. Measurement in panorama mode. ......................................................................... 40
Figure 42. Accessing the panorama mode details. ................................................................. 41
Figure 43. Panorama mode controls. ...................................................................................... 41
Figure 44. Click icon to exit panorama mode. ......................................................................... 42
Figure 45. Generate Report. .................................................................................................... 43
Figure 46. Create Report dialog. ............................................................................................. 43
Figure 47. View processing history ......................................................................................... 44
Figure 48. View Processing History log................................................................................... 45
Figure 49. Settings. .................................................................................................................. 46
Figure 50. Application Settings Dialog. ................................................................................... 46
Figure 51. About window. ........................................................................................................ 47
Figure 52. Re-Process SLAM user workflow. ......................................................................... 50
Figure 53. Re-Process SLAM interface. .................................................................................. 51
Figure 54. Filtering Workflow. .................................................................................................. 55
Figure 55. LAZ Filtering interface. ........................................................................................... 55
Figure 56. Outlier filter interface. ............................................................................................. 57
Figure 57. Thinning filter interface. .......................................................................................... 58
Figure 58. Range filter interface. ............................................................................................. 59
Figure 59. Noise filter interface................................................................................................ 59
Figure 60. Transient filter interface.......................................................................................... 60
Figure 61. ZEB Vision user workflow. ..................................................................................... 64
Figure 62. Step 1: Create a new project.................................................................................. 65
Figure 63. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. ...................................................... 66
Figure 64. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ............................................................. 66
Figure 65. Step 4: Data processing workflow.......................................................................... 68
Figure 66. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. ...................................................................... 69
Figure 67. ZEB Vision Image Stitcher interface. ..................................................................... 70
Figure 68. ZEB Vision Image Position interface...................................................................... 72
Figure 69. ZEB Vision Colouriser interface. ............................................................................ 74
Figure 70. ZEB Vision user workflow to create panoramic images. ....................................... 77
Figure 71. Process SLAM (GS-Vision) interface..................................................................... 78
Figure 72. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ............................................................. 79
Figure 73. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. ...................................................... 79
Figure 74. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ............................................................. 80
Figure 75. Step 4: Data processing workflow.......................................................................... 82
Figure 76. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. ...................................................................... 82
Figure 77. ZEB Vision user workflow to create panoramic images and colourise the point
cloud. ........................................................................................................................................ 83
Figure 78. Process SLAM (Colourise with GS-Vision) interface............................................. 84
Figure 79. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ............................................................. 85

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Figure 80. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. ...................................................... 85
Figure 81. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ............................................................. 86
Figure 82. Step 4: Data Processing workflow. ........................................................................ 88
Figure 83. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. ...................................................................... 89
Figure 84. Export workflow. ..................................................................................................... 90
Figure 85. Export options interface. ........................................................................................ 90
Figure 86. Floorslices user workflow. ...................................................................................... 92
Figure 87. Floorslices options interface................................................................................... 93
Figure 88. Scaled output image from the floorslices workflow................................................ 94
Figure 89. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ............................................................. 95
Figure 90. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. ...................................................... 95
Figure 91. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ............................................................. 96
Figure 92. Step 4: Data processing workflow.......................................................................... 98
Figure 93. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. ...................................................................... 98
Figure 94. Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow. ................................................................. 99
Figure 95. Closed Loop Georeferencing interface. ............................................................... 100
Figure 96. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ........................................................... 101
Figure 97. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. .................................................... 101
Figure 98. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ........................................................... 102
Figure 99. Step 4: Data processing workflow........................................................................ 104
Figure 100. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. .................................................................. 104
Figure 101. Stop and Go Alignment user workflow............................................................... 108
Figure 102. Stop and Go Alignment interface. ...................................................................... 109
Figure 103. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ......................................................... 110
Figure 104. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. .................................................. 110
Figure 105. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ......................................................... 111
Figure 106. Step 4: Data processing workflow...................................................................... 112
Figure 107. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. .................................................................. 113
Figure 108. Stop and Go Georeferencing user workflow...................................................... 115
Figure 109. Stop and Go Alignment interface. ...................................................................... 116
Figure 110. Example Control Point file .................................................................................. 116
Figure 111. Example accuracy report. .................................................................................. 117
Figure 112. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ......................................................... 118
Figure 113. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. .................................................. 118
Figure 114. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ......................................................... 119
Figure 115. Step 4: Data processing workflow...................................................................... 121
Figure 116. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. .................................................................. 121
Figure 117. Volumes user workflow. ..................................................................................... 123
Figure 118. Volumes Processing interface. .......................................................................... 124
Figure 119. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ......................................................... 124
Figure 120. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. .................................................. 125
Figure 121. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ......................................................... 126
Figure 122. Step 4: Data processing workflow...................................................................... 127
Figure 123. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. .................................................................. 128
Figure 124. Volumes Locate Processing interface. .............................................................. 129
Figure 125. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ......................................................... 130
Figure 126. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. .................................................. 130
Figure 127. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ......................................................... 131
Figure 128. Step 4: Data Processing workflow. .................................................................... 133

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Figure 129. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. .................................................................. 133
Figure 130. Change Detection user workflow. ...................................................................... 135
Figure 131. Change detection interface. ............................................................................... 136
Figure 132. Comparison scan results showing voxel change displayed in RGB. ................ 137
Figure 133. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project. ......................................................... 137
Figure 134. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project. .................................................. 138
Figure 135. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow. ......................................................... 139
Figure 136. Step 4: Data Processing workflow. .................................................................... 140
Figure 137. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow. .................................................................. 140

List of Tables
Table 1. Minimum and recommend system requirements. ....................................................... 2
Table 2. File formats used by GeoSLAM Connect. ................................................................. 20
Table 3. Screen Components in the main window.................................................................. 23
Table 4. Project tab options. .................................................................................................... 23
Table 5. SLAM tab options. ..................................................................................................... 26
Table 6. Workflow tab options. ................................................................................................ 26
Table 7. Workflow tab options. ................................................................................................ 27
Table 8. Workflow tab options. ................................................................................................ 27
Table 9. View tab options ........................................................................................................ 27
Table 10. Viewer Navigation options. ...................................................................................... 32
Table 11. Viewer toolbars. ....................................................................................................... 33
Table 12. Primary Tools toolbar. ............................................................................................. 35
Table 13. Point Tools toolbar................................................................................................... 36
Table 14. Measurement Tools toolbar..................................................................................... 37
Table 15. Measurement Tools shortcuts. ................................................................................ 37
Table 16. Viewer Navigation options. ...................................................................................... 40
Table 17. Advanced SLAM Workflow Parameters. ................................................................. 54
Table 18. Data cleaning workflow descriptions. ...................................................................... 56
Table 19. Output files from Floorslices workflow. ................................................................... 93
Table 20. Input file formats for Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow. ............................... 105
Table 21. Example Trimble Catalyst file with gyro data excluded. ....................................... 106
Table 22. Relevant information from the GPGGA file. .......................................................... 106
Table 23. Relevant information from the GPGST file............................................................ 106
Table 24. Stonex file format. .................................................................................................. 107
Table 25. Topcon file format. ................................................................................................. 107
Table 26. Output files from Change Detection workflow. ...................................................... 136

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Part 1 – Overview
GeoSLAM Connect is a bespoke software package designed for processing data to create
cleaned, thinned, georeferenced point clouds. The software primarily supports products from
the GeoSLAM ZEB family of laser scanners. Products supported include:

• ZEB Go
• ZEB Revo
• ZEB Revo RT
• ZEB Horizon
• ZEB Vision

Part 2 – Software Installation and Licensing of this guide covers the installation and
licensing of the software package. Workflow instructions for basic SLAM processing are
provided in Part 3 – Process SLAM Workflow with details on the program interface provided
in Part 4 – Program Interface. Reference topics including best practice for data capture are
provided in Part 5 – Technical Background.

Specific details concerning default workflows included with GeoSLAM Connect are detailed in
Appendices.

• Appendix A: provides details on the advanced processing parameters.

• Appendix B: outlines the filter options.
• Appendix C: details processing data from ZEB Vision.
• Appendix D: details the export process and options.
• Appendix E: details the Floorslices workflow.
• Appendix F: details the Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow.
• Appendix G: details the Stop and Go Alignment workflow.
• Appendix H: details the Stop and Go Georeferencing workflow.
• Appendix I: details the workflow to support GeoSLAM Volumes.
• Appendix J: details the Change Detection workflow.

Further Help and Information

In the event of a problem that cannot be resolved using the information supplied, please
contact GeoSLAM. You can also gain assistance through the support page on our website:
https://geoslam.com/support/

For further assistance, contact the GeoSLAM Technical Support by telephone or email. Our
Customer Support personnel will discuss your situation, determine the cause of the problem,
and provide the appropriate technical assistance.

Contact GeoSLAM by any of the following methods:

• Phone: +44 (0) 1157 270740 (all countries)

• Phone: +1-833-444-7907 (US & Canada)
• Email: [email protected]

Page 1
Part 2 – Software Installation and
Licensing
This section provides instructions on how to install the GeoSLAM Connect software bundle. It
is valid for GeoSLAM Connect version 2.1.1 and later. To process data, use automatic
workflows and visualize outputs you will need to use Connect Viewer.

The software bundle can be downloaded from www.geoslam.com/support/software-

downloads:

1. GeoSLAM Connect installer:

a. geoslam-connect-release-v2.1.1.exe.

GeoSLAM Connect is protected using Wibu software-based copy protection and

licensing. A single activation ID is provided with each copy unless further seats or
activation IDs are purchased. The activation ID can either be activated directly via
the internet or using a manual activation for offline computers.

A licence manager is provided with GeoSLAM software to facilitate user interaction with their
activation ID. The GeoSLAM Licence Manager utility can be accessed from the Windows
search bar.

System Requirements
GeoSLAM Connect software will install and operate on PCs capable of running on Windows
10 (32 & 64-bit) and higher.

Minimum Recommended

Windows 10 Windows 10
i7 7th Generation i7, i9 12th generation or greater (higher
clock speed)
AMD Ryzen 7 (1700X) AMD Ryzen 9 (5900X)
Integrated Graphics NVIDIA GTX 3060
16GB RAM 32GB RAM
30GB free space 30GB free space
SSD SSD
Table 1. Minimum and recommend system requirements.

Page 2
Software Installation
GeoSLAM Connect
Download the latest GeoSLAM Connect software bundle from GeoSLAM website.

To complete the install:

1. Open -> geoslam-connect-release-v2.1.1.exe.

2. Select -> Yes, at the Windows User Account Controls popup if applicable.
3. Check -> GeoSLAM Connect install options (Figure 1).
a. GeoSLAM Connect service.
b. GeoSLAM Connect viewer.
c. Desktop shortcut.
4. Select -> Next, to continue.

Figure 1. GeoSLAM Connect install options.

5. Check -> I accept the agreement, to accept the licence agreement (Figure 2).
6. Select -> Next, to continue.

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 Figure 2. GeoSLAM Connect Licence Agreement.

7. Select -> Next, after reading the release notes to continue (Figure 3).

Figure 3. GeoSLAM Connect Release Notes.

8. Select -> Install, to start the install process (Figure 4),

Or,
9. Select -> Back, to return to the previous screen and change any of the previous
installation components.

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 Figure 4. Ready to Install.

10. Check -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer, to open the viewer on exit (Figure 5).
11. Select -> Finish, to close the installation package.

Figure 5. GeoSLAM Connect Setup Confirmation.

Upgrading the Software

Periodically, software updates will be provided by GeoSLAM that include new features,
improvements, and resolution of issues in the software.

Page 5
 There is no need for the user to deactivate their current licence when performing a
software update.

Install the new version of the software by running the installation executable and following the
on-screen instructions or software installation steps above.

Uninstalling GeoSLAM Connect

It is not required to uninstall previous versions of GeoSLAM Connect to upgrade to the latest
version. If you wish to remove GeoSLAM Connect, this can be done using the Windows
Control Panel and navigating to Programs, Uninstall a program. Alternatively, users can use
the Windows Apps and Features option. Select to uninstall GeoSLAM Connect and agree to
the confirmation dialog. This will remove all files and applications for GeoSLAM Connect.

Licence Manager
To licence the software, the program will interrogate the GeoSLAM Licence Manager to
determine if a valid activation ID is available. The GeoSLAM Licence Manager is a separate
application that is installed with the GeoSLAM Connect installation.

Before running the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer, the user must activate their licence (32-
character Activation-ID) in the GeoSLAM Licence Manager. A GeoSLAM Connect licence can
be activated either online, or for environments without an internet connection, offline (using
two PCs, one with an internet connection for offline activation).

When opened, the GeoSLAM Licence Manager (Figure 6) will determine if a valid software
license is available and display all active licences in the Licences tab. The feature, version
and expiry dates are available to view at any time, giving the user the ability to check their
licence’s validity.

Page 6
 Figure 6. GeoSLAM Licence Manager.

The Licence Manager will additionally offer the user the choice to deactivate the software, in
the Deactivate tab. Deactivation can also be carried out online or offline if the computer does
not have an internet connection. Deactivating activation IDs allows the user the ability to
transfer the software to another PC.

Activation
This process is only applicable for PCs with an internet connection. This connection can be a
temporary connection to communicate with the licencing database. Once, the software is
activated, the internet connection can be disabled if necessary, however, the software will
require an internet connection once every 30 days.

To activate a licence in the GeoSLAM Licence Manager:

1. Open -> Windows search bar.

2. Browse -> GeoSLAM Licence Manager and open the application.
3. Select -> Settings tab, to view the activation form (Figure 7).
a. Confirm -> Advanced Mode, is ticked.
b. Confirm -> Legacy Mode, is unticked.

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 Figure 7. GeoSLAM Licence Manager Settings dialog.

4. Select -> Activate tab, to view the activation form (Figure 8).

Figure 8. GeoSLAM Licence Manager Activation dialog.

5. Input -> Licence details -> Activation Code -> 32-character code provided with the
software purchase.
6. Input -> Personal Details:
a. First Name.

Page 8
 b. Last Name
c. Email.
d. Company.
e. Country.
f. Primary usage.
7. Check-> Contact me about marketing, product, and company updates, if required.
8. Select -> Activate., to start the activation process.
9. Select -> OK, to confirm the activation was successful (Figure 9).

Ensure there are no spaces before or after your code. This is a common error made
by the users that causes the activation to fail.

Figure 9. Online Activation successful.

Login to GeoSLAM Connect

GeoSLAM Connect consists of Connect Control Center and the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.

On opening GeoSLAM Connect Viewer for the first time, users must enter their MyGeoSLAM
credentials into the login dialog (Figure 10). These credentials are provided to the user in their
New User Start-up email.

These details are used for signing in to both the GeoSLAM Control Center and GeoSLAM
Connect Viewer.

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 Figure 10. GeoSLAM Connect log in dialog.

For Offline Activation enquiries, please contact [email protected].

Deactivation
This process is only applicable for PCs with an internet connection. This connection can be a
temporary connection to communicate with the licencing database. Once, the software is
activated the internet can be disabled if necessary, however, the software will require an
internet connection once every 30 days.

To deactivating a licence in the GeoSLAM Licence Manager:

1. Open -> Windows search bar.

2. Browse -> GeoSLAM Licence Manager and open the application.
3. Select -> Deactivate tab, to view the deactivation form (Figure 11).

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 Figure 11. Deactivating a licence using the GeoSLAM Licence Manager.

4. Select -> Licence details -> GeoSLAM Connect, from the dropdown menu.
5. Input -> Licence details -> Activation Code -> 32-character code provided with the
software purchase.
6. Select -> Deactivate.
7. Select -> OK, to confirm the activation was successful (Figure 12).

Ensure there are no spaces before or after your code. This is a common error made
by the users that causes the deactivation to fail.

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 Figure 12. Online Deactivation successful.

For Offline Deactivation enquiries, please contact [email protected].

Licence Details
Users can display details of activated products, from the licences tab of the GeoSLAM Licence
Manager.

To display licence features:

1. Select -> Licences -> Connect Licence -> arrow (Figure 13), to view the licence details
as well as all features included in the licence (Figure 14).

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Figure 13. Accessing the licence features.

Figure 14. Current licence features.

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Part 3 – Process SLAM Workflow
The GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is designed to simplify and automate tasks and allow
visualisation of the output from the background scripting process. The viewer is designed to
be the primary software required to output processed and filtered data; this workflow is
explained in more detail in this section of this document.

This section describes the typical new project workflow when using GeoSLAM Connect. The
workflow is shown in Figure 15.

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2. Data selection

3. Define processing and export parameters

4. Data processing

5. Data visualisation

Figure 15. GeoSLAM Connect 2.1.1 Process SLAM user workflow.

The basic workflow for data processing is to create a new project, define the processing,
filtering, and export parameters, then load in the data, and start the workflow.

Once processing is complete, visualise the data to confirm the capture is accurate. If required,
perform additional filtering, or reprocess the data by returning to Step 2. The workflow shown
in Figure 15 will export a filtered point cloud to the format selected in the workflow.

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Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 16.

1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create

Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 16. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Process SLAM workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens, and

underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 17.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 17. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

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To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the Import dialog.
a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (geoslam,zip) -> Browse System, to
locate a *. geoslam or *.zip file to import into the project.
i. Select -> scan file (*. Geoslam, *.zip), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import *. Geoslam, *.zip).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the Drop or browse data area, to import the
scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Several standard export formats and SLAM processing types can be defined before importing
the data. The steps to select these options are show in Figure 18.

3-1. Export 3-2. Spatial 3-3. SLAM 3-4. Filter

Format Decimation Processing Type Options

Figure 18. Step 3: Processing parameters.

Step 3-1: Export Format

Select the format of the export point cloud data:

1. Select -> Export Format, from:

a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

Step 3-2: Export Decimation

Select the level of spatial decimation of the output point cloud:

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 10).

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Step 3-3: SLAM Processing Type
Defining a SLAM processing type can aid the processing quality:

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:

a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 40m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.
c. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 6 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

d. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

e. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

f. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system.

g. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be approximately in the same place (~2-3m). Features will vary in
distance from the trajectory.

h. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-4: Filter Options

Finally, user can choose to apply filtering to the output data, including:

• Data smoothing.
• Statistical outlier removal.
• Transient point removal.

Applying any, or all of the filters will increase processing time. To apply filtering:

1. Check -> filter options:

1. Check -> Smooth data, to remove erroneous points from planar features,

and / or,

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 2. Check -> Remove outliers from data, to remove outlying / isolated points,

and / or,

3. Check -> Remove moving objects from data, to remove transient points.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
A workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 19.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 19. Step 4: Data Processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. Hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 20.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 20. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).

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 b. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

It is highly advisable to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

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Part 4 – Program Interface
GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is a bespoke software designed for automated processing and
viewing data captured from LiDAR-based handheld ZEB systems provided by GeoSLAM.

Login to GeoSLAM Connect

Opening GeoSLAM Connect Viewer for the first time, users must enter their MyGeoSLAM
credentials into the login dialog (Figure 21). These credentials are provided to the user in their
New User Start-up email, or in an email from [email protected].

If you have any issues, please contact GeoSLAM by any of the following methods:

• Phone: +44 (0) 1157 270740 (all countries)

• Phone: +1-833-444-7907 (US & Canada)
• Email: [email protected]

Figure 21. GeoSLAM Connect log in dialog.

File Formats
GeoSLAM Connect can utilise data formatted in several common point cloud data formats,
allowing the software to analyse data from multiple sources (Table 2).

Data type Format

Input raw scan data BAG, GEOSLAM
Input metadata JSON
Input parameters YAML
Input calibration YAML
Viewable output files LAZ, GS-TRAJ
Export point clouds LAS, PLY, TXT

Table 2. File formats used by GeoSLAM Connect.

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Program Window
Opening the program will display the main screen (Figure 22). The main window on opening
contains the following:

1. New Project icon.

2. Open Project icon.
3. Data analysis and visualisation window.
4. View Processing History icon.
5. User Settings menu.

Figure 22. Main GeoSLAM Connect screen with no project open.

Main Window Layout

Once a project is active, the main screen with all controls will be visible (Figure 23 and Figure
24). A description of the screen components highlighted in Figure 23 is provided in Table 3.

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Figure 23. An open project with no data imported.

Figure 24. An open project with data imported.

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 Number Item Description
The main user toolbar for creating new projects, opening
1 Toolbar projects, selecting workflows, reprocessing, filtering, ZEB
Vision workflows, data export, and saving views.
2 Workflow Tool Users have the option to drag-and-drop or select data.
All data loaded into the project is listed in the project tree.
3 Project Tree The user has the option to make an item visible using the
eye icon.
The viewer window provides the user with the data display
4 Data Viewer
to interrogate the data.
System Access the Generate Report and Processing History
5
Settings functions. Additionally, access the User Settings options.

Table 3. Screen Components in the main window.

Detailed descriptions for each of the 5 panels of the main window are described in the following
section.

Panel 1 – Toolbar
The toolbar comprises:

• Project Options -> Contains options to either create a new project or open an existing
project, as well as giving the option to close open projects.
• Workflows -> Allows the user to select the reprocessing workflow.
• Views -> Save the current clipping and camera position.
• Reports -> This will generate a simple PDF report containing text and a screenshot from
the current 3D view.

Project tab
The tools in the Project tab provide the user with several options to either create a new project
or open an existing project, as well as giving the option to close open projects (Table 4).

Icon File Menu Description

Add New Project Allows the user to create a new project.

Open a Project Open an existing project from the project list.

Close Current
Closes the current project.
Project

Allows the user the option to select from a range of

Options
built-in workflows.

Table 4. Project tab options.

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Creating a New Project
To create a new project:

1. Select -> Add a New Project icon.

2. Input -> user defined project name (Figure 25).
3. Select -> workflow, from:
a. Change Detection.
b. Closed Loop Georeferencing.
c. Floorslices.
d. Process SLAM (GS-Vision).
e. Process SLAM (Colourise with GS-Vision).
f. Process SLAM.
g. Reprocess SLAM.
h. Stop and Go Alignment.
i. Stop and Go Georeferencing.
j. Volumes Locate Processing.
k. Volumes Processing.
4. Select -> Create Project, to create the new project.

Figure 25. New Project Creation Dialog.

If the user enters a project name that already exists or is invalid, then the process
will fail.

Opening an existing project

To open an existing project:

1. Select -> Open a Project icon, to open the project directory dropdown (Figure 26).
2. Select -> user defined project name, to open the project and continue.

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 Figure 26. Open Project Dropdown.

Only one project can be opened at a time.

Delete a project
Projects can be deleted from the Open a Project dropdown view by clicking the X icon.

Please note when deleting a project from the project list, it will be permanently
deleted from the projects folder in C:\ProgramData\LidarOs\projects.

Closing the current project

To close the current project:

1. Select -> Close Current Project icon.

Changing the current workflow

Users can change the workflow in a project at any time. To change the workflow:

1. Select -> Options icon, to open the Workflow Options dialog (Figure 27).
2. Select -> User defined workflow from the dropdown list.
3. Select -> Close once the updated workflow is selected.

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 Figure 27. Workflow Options menu, allows users to alter the current workflow.

SLAM tab
The SLAM tab provides access to the data reprocessing workflow. Options available in the
SLAM tab are shown in Table 5.

Icon Function Description

Reprocess- Opens reprocessing workflow for ZEB users to
SLAM reprocess data.

Table 5. SLAM tab options.

Filters tab
The Filters tab provides access to the post-processing filtering workflows. Filters available in
the Filter tab are shown in Table 6. Filters can be applied to LAZ files in the project or selected
from an external folder. Detailed information on filter workflows are provided in Appendix B –
Filter.

Icon Function Description

Filters available:
• Outlier.
• Thinning.
Filter Cloud
• Range.
• Noise.
• Transient.

Table 6. Workflow tab options.

ZEB Vision tab

The ZEB Vision tab provides users with a ZEB Vision camera the ability to create panoramas,
calculate camera positions, and colourise their point cloud. ZEB Vision workflows are shown
in Table 7. Detailed information on the ZEB Vision workflows are provided in Appendix C –
ZEB Vision Workflow.

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 Icon Function Description
Stitch ZEB Allows the creation of an image time file, used
Vision within the createGSVision module to create the
images. gs-vison file.
Calculate
ZEB Vision Creates a gs-vision file, using the vision stitcher
camera module to create a timing file.
positions.
Colourise
Colourises the point cloud from the data
cloud using
provided.
ZEB Vision.

Table 7. Workflow tab options.

Export tab
The Export tab allows users to export processed point clouds from the project or a system file.
Export formats are shown in Table 8. The input cloud (LAZ) can be converted to LAS, TXT,
and PLY or output to LAZ in another folder or directory. Detailed information on the export
options are provided in Appendix D – Export.

Icon Function Description

Convert or export to:
• LAZ
Export • LAS
• PLY
• TXT

Table 8. Workflow tab options.

Views tab
Customisable views of the display window can be saved for future reference or to include in a
PDF report. The current clipping and camera position will be saved. Options available in the
Views tab are shown in Table 9.

Icon Function Description

Allows the user to define a new view that can be
Add New View
loaded later.

Saved View
Displays all currently available views.
List

Delete View Deletes the current saved view.

Table 9. View tab options

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Save a New View
To save a view:

1. Select-> Add New View icon, to open the Add New View dialog (Figure 28).
2. Input -> User defined name, e.g., view1.
3. Select -> Save View.

Figure 28. Add New View dialog.

Delete a View
To delete the current view:

1. Select -> Delete View icon.

Loading a View
To load a view:

1. Select -> Save View List -> user defined view name.

Panel 2 – Workflow Tool

The Workflow tool (Figure 29) provides users with access to the workflow defined in the project
setup.

Figure 29. Drop or browse data tool.

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1. Click -> Drop or browse data icon to open the workflow dialog. Using this method, the
user must then manually add a data file to the project using the Browse System icon.
Or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import (*.zip or *. geoslam).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the import icon. Using this method, the file will
automatically be added to the project.

Panel 3 – Project Tree

The project tree provides the user with access to the raw data in the project as well as data
that has been created as a result of running a workflow. Data can include:

• Raw Data: *.zip, *. geoslam files.

• Processed Data: laser data (*.LAZ), trajectory data (*.gs-traj), reports (*.pdf).

The status of a running workflow can also be accessed.

Data tab
Selecting the Data tab will display a list of the data that has been imported into the project for
processing. Each dataset imported into the project will be visible (Figure 30a). Data can be
sorted by either ascending or descending order using the separate options tool (Figure 30b).
Additionally, depending on the data format, the user can use the Right-Click options (Figure
30c) to either:

1. Open File location -> This will open a Windows File Explorer to display the folder
containing the selected file.
2. Delete -> This will remove the file from the project and permanently delete the file from
the folder.

Figure 30. Data tab. a) Multiple datasets added to the project, b) the additional options tab
and c) Right-Click options

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Selecting the Data tab will also display a list of the data that has been created by the workflow.
Each dataset in the project will be visible. Data can be sorted by either ascending or
descending order using the separate options tool. Additionally, depending on the data format,
the user can use the Right-Click options.

To view the processed outputs:

1. Select -> Data, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer (Figure 31).
2. Select -> User-defined output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> Output, to load the processed output:
a. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Filtered Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
c. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

Figure 31. View processed data in the Data tab.

GeoSLAM Draw
GeoSLAM Draw can be used if applicable to the data format, e.g., *.LAZ, and a valid licence
has been purchased.

To open a dataset in GeoSLAM Draw:

1. Right click -> LAZ Dataset to be opened in GeoSLAM Draw.

2. Select -> Open in GeoSLAM Draw.

This will open a new project in GeoSLAM Draw, this opens in a different window.

Results tab
The results tab is no longer is use.

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 The Results tab is currently not used and will not display any of the processed
data. All data will be displayed under the Data tab.

Reports tab
Selecting the Report tab will display any reports that have been created in the project (Figure
32)

To view a report:

1. Select -> Reports, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> User-defined Reports folder, to view created reports.
3. Double Click -> Report .pdf, to load and view the report.

Figure 32. View output reports in the Reports tab.

Workflow Status
The status of the workflow can be viewed by hovering the mouse over the file name, under
Processing… (Figure 33).

Figure 33. Processing status.

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Panel 4 – Data Viewer
Processed laser and trajectory data is displayed in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer (Figure 34).

Figure 34. GeoSLAM Connect Viewer Tools.

Navigation
The user can navigate around the point cloud in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer using either
the mouse or keyboard. The navigation options are detailed in Table 10.

Function Keyboard shortcut Mouse

Reset View T Select ‘Reset View’ icon.
Click-and-Hold the left mouse
Rotate Q, E button and dragging will rotate the
scan
Zoom In N/A Mouse Wheel Fwd.
Zoom Out N/A Mouse Wheel Rev.
Click-and-Hold the right mouse
Pan W,A,S,D,R,F button and dragging will translate
the scan position in space.

Table 10. Viewer Navigation options.

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Viewer toolbars
Several toolbars within the viewer provide the user with easy access to options to modify the
appearance of the data as well as measurement tools. The toolbars are highlighted in Figure
35 and described in Table 11.

Figure 35. Viewer toolbars.

Toolbar Name Description

The primary toolbar gives access to the principal
1 Primary Tools
viewer tools.
Allows the user to quickly alter the point size and
2 Point Tools
point density.
When selected from the primary tools, the
3 Measurement Tools measurement tools allow the user to make basic
measurements within the point cloud.
ZEB Vision users can access the panorama tools
4 Panorama Tools for manipulating the display of the panoramic
imagery.
The mini map provides quick spatial context for all
5 Mini-Map
loaded data.

Table 11. Viewer toolbars.

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Primary Tools toolbar
The primary tools toolbar provides a selection of tools that can be used to alter data
visualisation and analyse the point cloud. Details of the primary tools are given in Table 12.

Icon Function Description

Set View Set the point cloud viewpoint.

Reset View View position reverts back to the default.

Left View Switches view to target the left axis.

Right View Switches view to target the right axis.

Front View Switches view to target the front axis.

Back View Switches view to target the back axis.

Top View Switches view to target the top axis.

Bottom View Switches view to target the bottom axis.

Toggle Grid Switch the reference grid on/off.

Change the display background to a solid

Set Background Colour
colour.
Switch shading to improve depth perception
Eye Dome Lighting
on/off.

Change point opacity value. (Recommended

Opacity
1)

Colour Modes Change point colour classification.

Change the displayed point colour to a solid

Set Point Colour
colour.

Colour Maps Change the colours of the mapped scale.

Clip the point cloud to a user-defined

Enable Clipping
bounding box.

Reset Clipping Reset the point cloud bounding box.

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 Icon Function Description
Provides details on the data, including size,
Information
capture length, bounding area.

Measurement Tools Toggle the measurement tools in the viewer.

Table 12. Primary Tools toolbar.

Set Intensity Range

If the point cloud has intensity data and the colour mode for the cloud has been set to
“Intensity” (Figure 36) then the min/max bounds of the colour scale can be defined (Figure
37).

Figure 36. Defining the intensity range.

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 Figure 37. Adjust the intensity range.

To adjust the intensity range:

1. Select -> Colour Mode -> Intensity.

2. Select -> Configure Intensity Range to open the Intensity/Reflectivity Range dialog.
3. Drag -> Slider to increase/decrease min/max values.

The colour map can be changed to a different scheme and will still apply the select changes.

Point Tools toolbar

The point tools toolbar allows the user to change the appearance points for point cloud data
(*.LAZ). Users can increase and decrease the rendered point size as well as increase point
density (Table 13).

Icon Function Description

Decrease point size Decreases the rendered point size.

Increase point size Increases the rendered point size.

Decrease point density Decreases the number of points displayed.

Increase point density Increases the number of points displayed.

Table 13. Point Tools toolbar.

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Measurement Tools toolbar
Selecting the Measurement Tool option from the Primary Tools toolbar displays the
measurement tools toolbar (Table 14).

Icon Function Description

Measurement Tools Opens the Measurement Tools toolbar.

Select a measurement point in the point

Pick Measurement Point
cloud.

Delete Measurement Deletes the current measurement point.

Delete All Measurements Deletes all measurement points.

Opens a secondary dialog to display details

Point Select List
on all selected points.
Toggle Measurement
Alters the text size of the measurement.
Annotation Size Attenuation

Table 14. Measurement Tools toolbar.

Users can quickly select points and undertake measurements within the point cloud using the
keyboard shortcuts described in Table 15.

Shortcut Function Description

Click a point in the viewer whilst holding “P” to
P Point Information
load the point information.
Click points whilst holding “M” to measure
M Measure point cloud
distances in the point cloud.

Table 15. Measurement Tools shortcuts.

To gather point information or make line measurements user must select either “P”
or “M” on the keyboard before selecting a point in the viewer.

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An example line measurement can be seen in Figure 38.

Figure 38. Example line measurement.

Mini-map
The mini-map provides quick spatial context for all loaded data.

Panorama mode
Panorama mode is available to view the panoramic images obtained from the ZEB Vision
camera.

To access Panorama mode:

1. Follow the ZEB Vision workflows outlined in Appendix C – ZEB Vision Workflow to
create the stitched panoramic images and camera position (gs-vision) file.
2. Double click -> Camera position file (gs-vision) file to open the panoramic image
positions (Figure 39).
3. Select -> Any image position sphere along the trajectory to access panorama mode ().

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 Figure 39. ZEB Vision image positions displayed in the viewer.

Figure 40. Panoramic mode. Point cloud (coloured by elevation) underlain by panoramic
imagery.

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Measurement toolbar
The measurement toolbar is available in Panorama mode. To take quick measurements:

1. Select and Hold -> “M” on the keyboard.

2. Click -> 2 points in the viewer, to measure distance (m) (Figure 41).

Figure 41. Measurement in panorama mode.

Navigation
The user can navigate around the point cloud and images in panorama mode using either the
mouse or keyboard. The navigation options are detailed in Table 16.

Function Keyboard shortcut Mouse

Hold down the left mouse button
Rotate Q,E
and dragging will rotate the scan.
Zoom In N/A Mouse Wheel Fwd.
Zoom Out N/A Mouse Wheel Rev.
Click panorama bubbles along the
trajectory OR use Panorama
Select next image N/A
Details dialog box to manually
navigate through images.

Table 16. Viewer Navigation options.

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Panorama Details dialog
The Panorama Details dialog (Figure 43) can be opened by clicking the Panorama Controls
button once the camera position file is opened and an image is selected (Figure 42).

Figure 42. Accessing the panorama mode details.

Figure 43. Panorama mode controls.

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 Item Function Description
Displays the current image name as it appears in the
1 Image name
images folder of the project.
Allows the user to manually enter an image number to
2 Go to image
open.
Key functions to skip between images (Skip to first
3 Image Navigator image, previous image, next image, Skip to last
image).
Defines the maximum range of point cloud data
4 Range
shown in the viewer.

To exit the Panorama mode and return to the top-down view, click on the Enter/Exit
Panorama button (Figure 44).

Figure 44. Click icon to exit panorama mode.

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Panel 5 - System Settings
Generate Report
Selecting the Generate Report icon (Figure 45) will open a secondary Create Report dialog
(Figure 46).

Figure 45. Generate Report.

Figure 46. Create Report dialog.

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To create a report:

1. Select -> Generate Report icon, to open the Generate Report dialog.
2. Input -> Name -> user defined name for the report.
3. To add a saved views to the report.
a. Select -> Include Saved View -> user defined view name.
b. Select -> Add, to add the view to the report.
4. Input -> Notes, to add any project notes to be included.
5. Select -> Generate report

The report will be created and saved to C:\ProgramData\LidarOs\projects\*user-

defined*\Reports. The output will appear on the Project Tree list under Reports.

To view the report:

6. Double-click -> Project Tree -> Reports -> user defined report name.

This will open the PDF report using the system default PDF viewer. The report will display the
notes at the top of the PDF and selected saved views and their titles on separate pages. Once
a report has been created, it cannot be edited. There is no limit to the number of reports that
can be created per project.

Processing History
Selecting the View Processing History icon (Figure 47) will open a secondary Processing
History window (Figure 48).

Figure 47. View processing history

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 Figure 48. View Processing History log.

To view the processing logs:

1. Select -> View Processing History icon.

2. Select -> User-defined file name, to view the processing log (Figure 48).

The processing history will be reset each time the Connect instance is closed.

Settings
Selecting the Settings icon (Figure 47) will provide access to:

• Application Settings
• Logout
• About

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 Figure 49. Settings.

Application Settings
The Application Settings contain language, theme, and account restriction options (Figure 50).

1. Select -> Select Language dropdown, to view language options.

a. English
b. Spanish
c. Chinese
2. Select -> Select Theme dropdown, to select the theme.
3. Select -> Relax Restrictions, to relax account restrictions for 24h.
4. Select -> Update, to apply any changes.

Figure 50. Application Settings Dialog.

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 Only the default theme is currently active.

Logout
Selecting Logout will log the current user from the application. The next time the software is
started the user login window will be displayed.

About
Selecting About will display the About GeoSLAM Connect window (Figure 51). This window
displays the current version of Connect as well as the current and total system memory. In
addition, users can display the End User Licence.

Figure 51. About window.

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Part 5 – Technical Background
Capture Techniques
This section outlines best practices for capturing data to be processed in GeoSLAM Connect.

The Environment
The SLAM algorithm used to process the raw laser scan data into a 3D point cloud requires a
variation in geometry and features within the scanned environment to correctly compute the
position of the scanner in relation to its surroundings. For a feature to be significant the ratio
of its size to its range must be approximately 1:10, e.g., at 5m range for a feature to be
significant it must be >0.5m in size.

‘Feature poor’ environments include open spaces and smooth-walled passageways. In

smooth-walled passageways, there may be insufficient features in the direction of travel for
the SLAM algorithm to determine forward motion. In feature-poor environments we
recommend the following:

1. Where possible, augment the environment with additional features, e.g., boxes in a
corridor or a parked vehicle in an open field.
2. Ensure that whatever limited features are available are scanned repeatedly as you
move through the environment by pointing the scanner in the direction of the feature.
By doing so, more measurement points are made of the feature, which increases the
likelihood that it will be used by the SLAM algorithm. This is particularly important when
the feature is at a relatively long-range (>20m), e.g., when scanning a smooth-walled
passageway where the only feature in the direction of travel is the end wall or door.
3. Avoid scanning moving objects (e.g., passing pedestrians or vehicles) as the SLAM
algorithm may lock on to these objects as static features.

Loop Closure
The SLAM algorithm used to process the raw scan data into a point cloud uses a method
analogous to the traverse technique used in survey practice, in that a previously known
position is used to determine its current position. Not “closing the loop” can result in the
compounding of any error introduced causing the measure positions to “drift”. It is good survey
practice to “close the loop” by re-surveying a known position so that the compounded error
can be spread around the loop. As a minimum, it is required that the operator must start and
end the survey in the same position to ensure at least one loop closure. However, it is
recommended where possible that the operator closes the loop as often as possible to
minimise error and improve the accuracy of the resulting point cloud. In general, it is better to
do circular loops rather than “there and back” loops where the survey path simply doubles
back on itself. This applies to horizontal and vertical loops, i.e., if possible, enter and exit
through different entrances, move between floors via different stairwells. It is important to scan
the closed-loop regions carefully to ensure the key features are scanned from a similar
perspective. It may be necessary to turn around if you return to a region from a different
direction. This is particularly important in feature-poor environments.

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Transitioning Between Environments
Extra care must be taken when transitioning between environments, for example passing
through a small entrance or turning through a tight bend to avoid introducing errors. When
transitioning between environments the local view may change abruptly and the SLAM
algorithm may have difficulty placing the new environment relative to the previous
environment. This may result in rooms on either side of an entrance being slightly misaligned.

Transition through smaller entrances slowly and ensure that there is a period when the
scanner can view features on both sides of the entrance (i.e., into both rooms). Transition
around tight bends slowly and ensure that there is a period when the scanner can view
features on both sides of the bend. Take care when transitioning from an enclosed feature-
rich environment to an open feature-poor environment, for example exiting a building. It may
be necessary to turn and face the exit and the exterior of the building if no other features are
within range. Avoid scanning any other moving objects (e.g., walking pedestrians) as you pass
through a transition.

Scanning Speed
It is recommended that data is captured at a slow walking pace (<2 m/s) to ensure good
coverage and high-resolution data. If the forward movement is too fast there may not be
enough repeat scans of features for the SLAM algorithm to be able to process the raw laser
data into a point cloud.

Duration Of Scanning
For very large surveys the project should be broken down into more than one scan capture.
This is to avoid very large file sizes as well as reduce any drift that might be created in the
data. It is recommended that each survey be limited to 25 minutes.

Moving Objects in The Environment

In most cases, the SLAM algorithm can handle moving objects in the environment. To estimate
the scanner motion, the algorithm must assume a large proportion of the environment is static.
However, in some feature-poor environments where 3D structure is lacking in some
dimensions, moving objects can have a greater impact on the solution. In particular, moving
objects should be avoided in long tunnel-like environments (e.g., corridors), relatively open
spaces and when transitioning through entrances. It is best practice not to have other people
closely accompany the operator during the scan acquisition as they will be scanned throughout
the map leaving streaks of data and potentially corrupting the solution in feature-poor
environments. If people are required to follow the operator, they should ideally maintain a
distance of 20m or more from the system.

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Appendix A – Re-Process SLAM
Workflow
The Re-Process SLAM workflow allows the user to define advanced processing parameters
to help processing in more challenging capture environments. The parameters and their
values are heavily dependent on the data capture environment. Default values for each
parameter are defined by the values in the default Process-SLAM Workflow.

This section describes the typical Re-Process SLAM workflow. The workflow is shown in
Figure 52.

1-1 Select 1-4. Specify

1-2 Edit Local 1-3. Edit Global
Reprocess SLAM Bounding Box
Options Parameters Parameters Values

1-5 Horizon/Revo
Options

Figure 52. Re-Process SLAM user workflow.

The basic workflow for data re-processing is to; select raw data, define the local and global
parameters, and start the workflow. Once processing is complete; visualise the data to confirm
the capture is accurate, if required, perform additional filtering, or reprocess the data by
returning to Step 1. The workflow shown in Figure 52 will export a LAZ file with the requested
parameters applied to correct for any SLAM discrepancies.

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Re-Process SLAM workflow interface
The Re-Process SLAM workflow is shown in Figure 53.

Figure 53. Re-Process SLAM interface.

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Running the Workflow
Step 1-1: Select Re-Process SLAM option
To modify the advanced SLAM parameters:

1. Select ->
a. Reprocess SLAM icon on the interface, or
b. Workflows -> Reprocess SLAM from the dropdown list.
2. Input -> *.geoslam,*.zip file, using:
a. Pick from project -> Allows you to pick a file already loaded into the current
project, or
b. Browse system -> Pick from another location on the local machine.

Step 1-2: Edit local Processing Parameters

To modify the local advanced SLAM processing parameters:

1. Select the parameter to choose, from:

a. Select -> Convergence Threshold.
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 5 (default 0).
b. Select -> Window Size.
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 5 (default 0).
c. Select -> Voxel Density.
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 5 (default 0).
d. Select -> Local Rigidity.
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 1–> 4 (default 1).
e. Select -> Maximum Range.
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 50 (default 30).

Details on the advanced processing parameters can be found in Table 17.

Advanced SLAM Workflow Parameters.

Step 1-3: Edit bounding box values

To modify the bounding box values:

1. Select the bounding axes to modify:

a. Select -> Modify Bounding Box (Back/metres).
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> -5 (default -1).
b. Select -> Modify Bounding Box (Front/metres).
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 5 (default 1).
c. Select -> Modify Bounding Box (Right/metres).
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> -5 (default -1).
d. Select -> Modify Bounding Box (Left/metres).
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 5 (default 1).
e. Select -> Modify Bounding Box (Bottom/metres).
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> -5 (default -1).
f. Select -> Modify Bounding Box (Top/metres).
i. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 5 (default 1).

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Step 1-4: Horizon/Revo options
To change the specific Horizon/Revo options:

1. Select -> If Revo, Discard fewer points due to range discontinuities.

a. Check -> Tick box, to discard points. or
b. Uncheck -> Tick box, to keep points.
2. Select -> If Horizon, Optimise the transform between mount and laser.
a. Check -> Tick box, to optimise the transform, or
b. Uncheck -> Tick box, to keep the default settings.
3. Select -> If Revo, Compensate for poor timing in IMU data.
a. Check -> Tick box, to compensate for poor timing, or
b. Uncheck -> Tick box, to keep the default settings.
4. Select -> End processing early.
a. Check -> Tick box, to end processing early, or
b. Uncheck -> Tick box, to keep the default settings.
5. Input -> Number of seconds to end processing after.
6. Select -> Are most surfaces flat?
a. Check -> Tick box, to confirm most surfaces are planar, or
b. Uncheck -> Tick box, to keep the default settings.
7. Select -> Was the scan a closed loop?
a. Check -> Tick box, if start/stop in the same location (default), or
b. Uncheck -> Tick box, if start/stop in a different location.

Step 1-5: Edit global processing parameters

Select the parameter to choose, from:

1. Select -> Global Convergence Threshold.

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 5 (default 0).
2. Select -> Global Rigidity.
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 1–> 4 (default 1).
3. Select -> Output decimated point cloud (mm)
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0–> 100 (default 0).

Advanced Processing Parameters

This section provides details on the advanced processing parameters.

Advanced SLAM Parameter Options

Convergence threshold increases the number of times the SLAM
algorithm will try to match the data within an overlapping area. In
scans that exhibit signs of drift, increasing the convergence threshold
can reduce the drift in the final datasets.
Convergence
The convergence value is a key parameter to alter when undertaking
Threshold
any data reprocessing and is typically altered in conjunction with
window size.
Increasing this parameter will increase the amount of memory required
and the overall processing time. Range 0 to 5 (default 0).

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 Increasing this parameter causes the algorithm to take larger samples
of data for each processing step. This may help bridge slips that occur
Window Size during the local registration phase. Increasing this parameter will
increase the amount of memory required and the overall processing
time. Range 0 to 5 (default 0).
Voxel Density controls the size of the voxels (cubes that data is
divided into) that SLAM uses. Increasing voxel density will increase
Voxel the size of the voxels. Increasing voxel density will enable surfels to be
Density built for less detailed areas and improve processing at longer ranges.
Increasing this parameter will reduce the amount of memory required
and the overall processing time. Range -1 to 5 (default 1).
Rigidity controls the weighting between the IMU and LiDAR data in the
processing algorithm. In areas where there may not be many
significant features (e.g., around buildings, corridors, or tunnels) it is
recommended to increase the weighting on the IMU position
(decrease Rigidity parameter).
Rigidity
If the data has been acquired while moving very quickly e.g., when
moving up and down stairs, to avoid IMU inaccuracies the weighting
should be increased to the laser point data (increase Rigidity
parameter).
Range -5 to 5 (default 0).
Maximum
Maximum range limits the range of the scan data that is used within
Range
the SLAM algorithm. Range 0 to 100m (default 100m).
(Metres)
Confirmation that the scan started and finished at the same location. If
Start / Stop
the scan is finished in another location, deselect the tick box. Default is
Tick box
ticked.
The user can change the default bounding box used to eliminate any
Modify noise from the system the scanner is mounted on. By default, the
Bounding bounding box is set to eliminate the operator from the scan. All points
Box inside the bounding box are ignored. This can also be used to remove
dust noise from beneath the scan. Range 0 to 10m.

Table 17. Advanced SLAM Workflow Parameters.

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Appendix B – Filtering Workflow
Once the processed output has been confirmed as representative of the area scanned,
additional filtering can be undertaken, if required, to further thin and clean the data.
Supplementary workflows have been created to automate these functions on the processed
*.LAZ files (Figure 54).

1-1. Changing 1-2. Importing 1-3. Processing 1-4. Processing

Workflow Data Settings Data

Figure 54. Filtering Workflow.

Filters workflow interface

The thinning and data cleaning workflows are accessed from the Filter Cloud icon on the
toolbar. This opens the LAZ Filtering options menu (Figure 55) from where users can access
the filter workflows.

Figure 55. LAZ Filtering interface.

Details on the workflows are given in

Table 18.

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 Filter Options
Creates a uniform point cloud and reduces the number of points which
makes processor and memory significant functions typically used on point
cloud data (such as ground classification and segmentation) to run more
quickly. The thinning method employed is based on a VOXEL grid. Choosing
either 2D or 3D methods, the function first computes the extents of the point
cloud. It then creates a map of either squares (2D) or cubes (3D) whose size
LAZ filter is defined by the user. For each cell of the map the function determines
thinning either:
• highest point – point with the highest elevation.
• median point – point with the median elevation.
• lowest point – point with the lowest elevation.
• central point – point which is closest to the center of the cell (XYZ).
• average point – calculates an average position from all points in the
cell. This creates a new "pseudo" point.
Designed to improve the point cloud by eliminating less dense and lower
LAZ filter
accuracy points that exist furthest from the scanner. It filters points with
range
respect to their distance from the trajectory.
Designed to improve the point cloud by removing outlying data points.
LAZ filter Outlying points can be returns to due rain or dust or returns due to partial
SOR reflections from edges. The Statistical Outlier routine classifies points
depending on their distance from the neighboring points.
Designed to improve the point cloud by removing outlying data points being
focusses on points on planar surfaces. In contrast to the SOR filter, the
LAZ filter noise filter considers the distance to the underlying surface instead of the
noise distance to the neighbours, therefore it is best suited to environments with
planar surfaces, e.g., walls. This filter should be used for indoor data and for
urban environments with strong planar features.
Useful for classifying points that are temporary. This can include people or
LAZ filter
vehicles that are moving past the scanner during acquisition. This filter
transient
classifies points based on their temporal extents.

Table 18. Data cleaning workflow descriptions.

Running the workflow

Step 1-1: Selecting the workflow
1. Select -> Filter Cloud icon.
2. Select -> Select a Workflow, to select an option from the dropdown list:
a. Outlier Filter – (SOR-pointFilter.geoscript).
b. Thinning Filter – (dataThinning-pointFilter.geoscript).
c. Range Filter – (range-pointsFilter.geoscript).
d. Noise Filter – (surfaceNoise-pointFilter.geoscript).
e. Transient Filter – (transient-pointFilter.geoscript).

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Step 1-2: Importing Data
For each of the workflows the user must select the point cloud file (*.LAZ) on which to apply
the selected function.

Select -> either:

1. Pick from project -> Allows you to pick a file already loaded into the current project,
a. Select -> Pick from Project, to open the datasets dialog.
b. Select -> user defined LAZ file (*.LAZ).
c. Select -> Select, to confirm the selection.
or,
2. Browse system -> Pick from another location on the local machine.
a. Select -> Pick System File, to open the file select dialog.
b. Browse -> Browse system, to locate a .LAZ file to filter.
c. Select -> Select, to select the user defined file (*.LAZ), to import.
d. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 1-3: Processing Settings

1. Input -> Filter Parameters, to use to filter the *.LAZ file.

Outlier Filter
The input dialog for the outlier filter is shown in Figure 56.

1. Input -> Number of neighbours -> user defined value.

2. Input -> Threshold -> user defined value.

Figure 56. Outlier filter interface.

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Thinning Filter
The input dialog for the thinning filter is shown in Figure 57.

1. Input -> Grid Size (m) -> user defined value.

2. Select -> Grid Dimension ->
a. 3D, or
b. 2D.
3. Select -> Choose which points to select within each grid ->
a. Average.
b. Central.
c. Highest Point.
d. Lowest Point.
e. Median Height.

Figure 57. Thinning filter interface.

Range Filter
The input dialog for the range filter is shown in Figure 58.

1. Input -> Your traj file (txt, gs-traj) -> user defined value.
2. Input -> minimum distance (m) -> user defined value.
3. Input -> maximum distance (m) -> user defined value.

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 Figure 58. Range filter interface.

Noise Filter
The input dialog for the noise filter is shown in Figure 59.

1. Input -> Neighbours -> user defined value.

2. Input -> Absolute Threshold -> user defined value.

Figure 59. Noise filter interface.

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Transient Filter
The input dialog for the transient filter is shown in Figure 60.

1. Input -> The voxel grid size -> user defined value.
2. Input -> The time window -> user defined value.

Figure 60. Transient filter interface.

Step 1-4: Processing Data

1. Select -> Run Filters, to start processing.
2. View -> Processing Status, by hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
a. Processing status can also be viewed by selecting the View Processing History icon
and selecting the imported data.
3. View -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been completed.

Once the workflow is complete a new point cloud file with the name of the function appended
to the filename, e.g. scan1.laz after running the outlier filter will be names scan1_outlier.laz.

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Appendix C – ZEB Vision Workflow
This section describes the steps required to process LiDAR and image data from the ZEB
Horizon scanner and ZEB Vision camera systems.

For further information about capturing a scan with the ZEB Horizon and ZEB Vision, please
see the ZEB Vision User Guide or go to the GeoSLAM Academy.

The GeoSLAM Vision system consists of integrated forward and rearward facing sensors,
producing full 360° panoramic images. The modules described in this section will enable the
user to process data from the Vision camera and to assist in system configuration and
calibration.

The following steps are required to convert the raw scanner data and individual fisheye lens
image files to the data required to visualise both the point cloud and panoramic imagery in the
Connect Viewer. If required users can then assign RGB values from the imagery to the point
cloud.

The individual processing steps are:

• Process SLAM.
• Create equirectangular (panoramic) images.
• Create image position information.
• Colourise (optional).

Processing Steps
This section will provide an overview of each separate module, steps on how to complete
processing and further information can be found in the sections relating to that workflow.

Process SLAM
This step uses the standard Process-SLAM workflow to perform SLAM on the .geoslam file.

The workflow inputs are:

1. Data file (*.geoslam) from ZEB Horizon.

The workflow outputs are:

1. processed data (*.geoslam) file

2. Point cloud file (*.laz),
3. Processed trajectory file (*.gs-traj).

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Vision-Stitcher
The vision-stitcher module produces a set of equirectangular (panoramic) images created
from the image pairs acquired by the camera (at 1 frame per second). It also produces a timing
file (imageTimings.json) which contains the image name (and path) and the acquisition time
for each image.

To create the equirectangular images, the image from each sensor is first converted to
rectangular image by applying the lens distortion model parameters defined in the camera
calibration file (camera_cal.json). Any lens exposure, set by the user, is applied at this stage.

The 2 rectangular images are then stitched and blended (again using the parameters defined
in the camera calibration file) and the global exposure applied.

The workflow inputs are:

1. Raw images (*.JPG).

2. Camera Calibration file (camera_cal.json).

The workflow outputs are:

3. Processed equirectangular images (*.jpg).

4. Image timing file (imageTimings.json).

Image position creator

To align the point cloud data and the imagery, the exact position and orientation (POSE) of
the camera when the image is taken is required. The POSE of the camera is calculated from
the POSE of the ZEB Horizon. The time the image is taken is matched in the ZEB Horizon
trajectory file. The lever arms (m) and the rotations between the rotational axes of the camera
and scanner (°) are applied.

The image POSE information is output to a file (*.gs-vision). This file can be loaded into the
Connect Viewer interface to allow the simultaneous display of the point cloud and image data.

The workflow inputs are:

1. ZEB Horizon trajectory (*.gs-traj).

2. Image timing file (imageTimings.json).
3. Camera Calibration file (camera_cal.json).

The workflow outputs are:

4. Image position file (*.gs-vision).

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Colouriser
The user can choose to extract colour information from the equirectangular images and apply
it the to the point cloud data.

There are 2 methods of colourisation, these are listed below:

1. Distance based colourisation - Applies colour to all points visible from the current
camera frame regardless of when they were captured on the trajectory. Each point can
be coloured multiple times, an average of the colour is calculated.
2. Temporal based colourisation - Applies colour to points that are visible from the
current camera frame and captured around the same time the camera frame was
captured. The timings will be taken from the .gs-vision file. Each point will be coloured
only once, there will be no averaging.

Applying a mask
The masking option in the workflow enables the user to mask out areas of stationary colour
from the panoramic images (such as the ZEB Horizon scanner, operator) which would
otherwise affect the accuracy of the colour projected onto the point cloud. There are 4 masking
options available:

1. Backpack
2. Custom
3. Handheld
4. None

The workflow inputs are:

1. Image position file (*.gs-vision).

2. Camera Calibration file (camera_cal.json).

The workflow outputs are:

3. Point cloud file with RGB (*.laz).

Methods for Vision Processing

There are several methods available in Connect Viewer to process ZEB Vision data:

1. Run -> each stage separately via the toolbar icons.

a. Process SLAM -> allows the user to assess the point cloud quality.
b. Vision-Stitcher -> Accessible from the interface.
i. Creates the equirectangular (panoramic) images.
ii. Allows the user to iteratively optimise exposure settings.
c. CreateGS-vision -> Accessible from the interface.
i. Calculates the camera position from the ZEB Horizon positions
d. ColouriseCloud -> Accessible from the interface.

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 i. Extracts RGB information from the imagery and applies it to the point
cloud.

This is the preferred processing workflow, especially for new users.

2. Run -> Process SLAM (GS-Vision) workflow.

a. Process SLAM, Vision-Stitcher, and CreateGS-vision.
i. Since the primary steps are completed in a single workflow, the user
must be very certain of their processing parameters to minimise the risk
of having to rerun the workflow. There are no additional point cloud
filtering options.

3. Run -> Process SLAM (colourise with GS-Vision) workflow.

a. Process SLAM, Vision-Stitcher, CreateGS-vision and ColouriseCloud.
i. Since all of the steps are completed in a single workflow, the user must
be extremely certain of their processing parameters to minimise the risk
of having to rerun the workflow. There are no additional point cloud
filtering options.

Method 1: Running Each Module Separately

GeoSLAM Connect Viewer includes the relevant modules for processing ZEB Vision data via
icons on the interface. This section will describe each step from starting a new project,
completing SLAM processing and information about each separate processing module. The
workflow is shown in Figure 61.

1. Process SLAM

2. Vision Stitcher

3. Image Position Creator

4. Colouriser

Figure 61. ZEB Vision user workflow.

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Process SLAM
The basic workflow for data processing is to; create a new project, define the processing,
filtering, and export parameters, then load in the data, and start the workflow. Once processing
is complete; visualise the data to confirm the capture is accurate, if required, perform additional
filtering, or reprocess the data.

Step 1: Create a New Project

When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 62.

1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create

Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 62. Step 1: Create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Process SLAM workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens, and

underscores).

Page 65
Step 2: Data Selection
When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 63.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 63. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

3. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the Import dialog.
a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (geoslam,zip) -> Browse System, to
locate a *. geoslam or *.zip file to import into the project.
i. Select -> scan file (*. Geoslam, *.zip), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. or,
4. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import *. Geoslam, *.zip).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the Drop or browse data area, to import the
scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 64.

3-1. Export 3-2. Spatial 3-3. SLAM 3-4. Filter

Format Decimation Processing Type Options

Figure 64. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: Export Format

Select the format of the export point cloud data:

1. Select -> Export Format, from:

a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

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Step 3-2: Spatial Decimation

Select the level of spatial decimation of the output point cloud:

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 10).

Step 3-3: SLAM Processing Type

Defining a SLAM processing type can aid the processing quality:

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:

a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 40m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.

c. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 6 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

d. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

e. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

f. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system.

g. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be approximately in the same place (~2-3m). Features will vary in
distance from the trajectory.

h. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

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Step 3-4: Filter Options

Finally, user can choose to apply filtering to the output data, including:

• Data smoothing.
• Statistical outlier removal.
• Transient point removal.

Applying, any or all of the filters will increase processing time. To apply filtering:

1. Check -> filter options:

a. Check -> Smooth data, to remove erroneous points from planar features,
and / or,
b. Check -> Remove outliers from data, to remove outlying / isolated points,
and / or,
c. Check -> Remove moving objects from data, to remove transient points.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
A workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 65.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 65. Step 4: Data processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

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Step 5: Data Visualisation
Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 66.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 66. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

ZEB Vision Image Stitching

This section describes the vision-stitcher module. This module produces a set of
equirectangular (panoramic) images created from the image pairs acquired by the camera (at
1 frame per second). It also produces a timing file (imageTimings.json) which contains the
image name (and path) and the acquisition time for each image.

The vision stitcher workflow is shown in Figure 67.

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 Figure 67. ZEB Vision Image Stitcher interface.

To run the workflow:

1. Select -> Stitch ZEB Vision Images icon to open the dialog box.
2. Select -> Select your scan data (*. geoslam).
a. Pick from Project, to locate a *. geoslam file.
i. Select -> scan file (*. geoslam), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> scan file to import (*. geoslam).
ii. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the import icon, to import the scan file.
3. Select -> Select your images folder.
a. Pick from Project, to locate images folder.
i. Select -> images folder, to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the folder selection.
or,
b. Open -> Browse system.
i. Select -> images folder to import.
ii. Drag and drop -> images folder onto the import icon, to import the
images folder filepath.
4. Select -> Choose whether to save additional reference imagery from one, both or
neither camera.
a. Choose from one of the options below:
i. Forward.

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 ii. Rearward.
iii. Both.
iv. None.

By default, the stitching module will always create the equirectangular images.
This option allows the user to additionally output a rectangular image from
• Forward -> output only the forward sensor image.
• Rearward -> output only the rear sensor image.
• Both -> output both forward and rear sensors images.
• None -> Do not output additional images.

5. Define -> Exposure of forward-facing lens.

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 0).

Allows the user to adjust the exposure level of the front sensor image. Positive
values will lighten the image. Negative values will darken the image.

6. Define -> Exposure of forward-facing lens.

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 0).

Allows the user to adjust the exposure level of the rear sensor image. Positive
values will lighten the image. Negative values will darken the image.

7. Define -> Exposure of panoramic image.

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 1).

Allows the user to adjust the exposure level of the stitched equirectangular
image. Positive values will lighten the image. Negative values will darken the
image.

8. Define -> Number of images to skip (Stitches every Nth image).

a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 1).

Allows the user to define how many images are stitched. This parameter is useful
for testing any exposure settings.

9. Select -> Start Stitching.

Calculate ZEB Vision camera positions

This section describes the inputs into the Calculate ZEB Vision camera positions module.

To align the point cloud data and the imagery, the exact position and orientation (POSE) of
the camera when the image is taken is required. The POSE of the camera is calculated from

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the POSE of the ZEB Horizon. The time the image is taken is matched in the ZEB Horizon
trajectory file. The lever arms (m) and the rotations between the rotational axes of the camera
and scanner (°) are applied. The camera position and pose for each image is written to the
Images.gs-vision file.

The image position calculator workflow is shown in Figure 68.

Figure 68. ZEB Vision Image Position interface.

To run the workflow:

1. Select -> Calculate ZEB Vision camera positions icon to open the dialog box.
2. Select -> Select your scan data (*. geoslam).
a. Pick from Project, to locate a *. geoslam file.
i. Select -> scan file (*. geoslam), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> scan file to import (*. geoslam).
ii. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the import icon, to import the scan file.
3. Select -> Trajectory file (*.gs-traj).
a. Pick from Project, to locate a *. gs-traj file.
i. Select -> traj file to import (*. gs-traj).
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> traj file to import (*. gs-traj).
ii. Drag and drop -> traj file onto the import icon, to import the scan file.
4. Select -> Timing file (imageTimings.json).
a. Pick from Project, to locate a gs-vision.json file.
i. Select -> imageTimings.json file to import.

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 ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> imageTimings.json file to import.
ii. Drag and drop -> imageTimings.json file onto the import icon, to
import the scan file.
5. Select -> Camera calibration file (camera_cal.json).
a. Pick from Project, to locate a camera_cal.json file.
i. Select -> camera_cal.json file to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> camera_cal.json file to import.
ii. Drag and drop -> camera_cal.json file onto the import icon, to import
the scan file.
6. Define -> Sampling rate of the output images (writes out every Nth image).
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 1).
7. Select -> Create Image Pose File.

Colourise cloud using ZEB Vision

This section describes the inputs into the Colourise cloud using ZEB Vision module.

The user can choose to extract colour information from the equirectangular images and apply
it the to the point cloud data.

The colouriser workflow is shown in Figure 69.

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Figure 69. ZEB Vision Colouriser interface.

Page 74
To run the workflow:

1. Select -> Colourise cloud using ZEB Vision icon to open the dialog box.
2. Select -> Select your scan data (*.laz)
a. Pick from Project, to locate a *. laz file.
i. Select -> scan file (*. laz), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> scan file to import (*. laz).
ii. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the import icon, to import the scan file.
3. Select -> Your Gs-Vision file (gs-vision.json).
a. Pick from Project, to locate a gs-vision.json file.
i. Select -> gs-vision.json file to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> gs-vision.json file to import.
ii. Drag and drop -> gs-vision.json file onto the import icon, to import the
scan file.
4. Select -> Your Vision camera calibration file (camera_cal.json).
a. Pick from Project, to locate a camera_cal.json file.
i. Select -> camera_cal.json file to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> camera_cal.json file to import.
ii. Drag and drop -> camera_cal.json file onto the import icon, to import
the scan file.
5. Define -> Skip the first n images.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 9).

Provides the user with the ability to ignore the first n images to be used by the
colouriser. This is useful as for most cases the first 10-20seconds of the survey
the system is static, with the user in complete view of the camera at different
positions which would affect the colouring.

6. Define -> Skip the last n images.

a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default -9).

Provides the user with the ability to ignore the last n images to be used by the
colouriser. This is useful as for most cases the first 10-20seconds of the survey
the system is static, with the user in complete view of the camera at different
positions which would affect the colouring.

7. Define -> Skip every X number of camera frames.

a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 0).

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 Allows the user with the option to use a subset of the images for colouring.
Particularly in indoor environments where users may be moving slowly, reducing
the number of images used will potentially provide a more accurate colouring as
well as reducing processing time.

8. Select -> Image mask, select from:

a. Backpack.
b. Custom.
c. Handheld.
d. None.

Allows the user to mask out areas of stationary colour from the panoramic images
(such as the ZEB Horizon scanner, operator) which would otherwise affect the
accuracy of the colour projected onto the point cloud. The masking is defined by
the capture technique.

9. Select -> Colour method, select from:

a. Distance.
b. Timing.

Distance based colourisation - Applies colour to all points visible from the current
camera frame regardless of when they were captured on the trajectory. Each point
can be coloured multiple times, an average of the colour is calculated.
Temporal based colourisation - Applies colour to points that are visible from the
current camera frame and captured around the same time the camera frame was
captured. The timings will be taken from the .gs-vision file. Each point will be
coloured only once, there will be no averaging.

10. Select -> Process low resolution mode

a. Checked -> Produces a low-resolution output and speeds up processing time.
or
b. Unchecked -> Does not produce a low-resolution output, processing time is
increased.

Allows the user to utilise a less rigorous colouring method when selecting the
distance based colourisation.

11. Select - > Remove points that have not been coloured.
a. Checked -> Removes points that have not been assigned an RGB colour value.
or,
b. Unchecked -> Keeps points that have not been assigned an RGB colour value.

Allows the user to remove points from the output point cloud file where no RGB
value could be assigned to the point.

12. Select -> Start colourising Cloud.

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Method 2: Using the Process SLAM (GS-Vision) Workflow
The GeoSLAM Connect Viewer supports multiple scripts for processing ZEB Vision data. This
section will describe how to use the Process SLAM (GS-Vision) workflow.

This workflow will process ZEB Horizon point cloud data and ZEB Vision images to provide a
‘walk-through’ bubble view in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer for viewing the point cloud and
panoramic images.

This workflow will not extract colour from the images and apply them to the point cloud.

Processing steps are shown in Figure 70.

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2.. Data selection

3. Define the processing parameters

4. Data processing

5. Data visualisation

Figure 70. ZEB Vision user workflow to create panoramic images.

The Process SLAM (GS-Vision) workflow is shown in Figure 71.

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 Figure 71. Process SLAM (GS-Vision) interface.

Step 1: Create a New Project

When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 72.

Page 78
 1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create
Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 72. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Process SLAM (GS-Vision) workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens, and

underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 73 .

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 73. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the Import dialog.
a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (geoslam) -> Browse System, to locate a
*. geoslam file to import into the project.

Page 79
 i. Select -> scan file (*.geoslam), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import (*.geoslam).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the Drop or browse data area, to import the
scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Processing parameters must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select these
options are show in Figure 74.

3-1. SLAM 3-2. Spatial 3-3. Select 3-4. Define Vision

processing type Decimation Vision Data processing parameters

Figure 74. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:
a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 25m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.

c. Outdoor - An outdoor environment where maximum ranges consistently

exceed 25 metres on at least 1 side of the system. To be used when the system
is far away from features.

d. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system. To be used in an underground
environment.

e. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 4 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

f. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

Page 80
 g. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

h. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be in the same region. Features will vary in distance from the
trajectory.
i. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-2: Spatial Decimation

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 10).

Step 3-3: Select Vision Data

1. Select -> Your ZEB Vision Images Folder.
a. Select -> Browse system.
i. Select -> Images folder to import.
ii. Drag and drop -> Images folder onto the import icon, to import the
images folder filepath.
or,
b. Pick from Project, to locate images folder.
i. Select -> Images folder, to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the folder selection.

Step 3-4: Define Vision processing parameters

1. Select -> Choose whether to save additional reference imagery from one, both or
neither camera.
a. Choose from one of the options below:
i. Forward
ii. Rearward
iii. Both
iv. None
2. Define -> Define the exposure of the forward lens, positive (lightens), negative
(darkens).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 0).
3. Define -> Define the exposure of the rearward lens, positive (lightens), negative
(darkens).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 0).
4. Define -> Define the exposure of the panoramic imagery, positive (lightens),
negative (darkens).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 1).
5. Input -> Define N to stitch every Nth image.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 1).

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 6. Input -> Define sampling rate N of the output images to write out every Nth image
for the camera positions.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 1).

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 75.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 75. Step 4: Data processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 76.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 76. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed point cloud (*.laz).
b. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
c. Camera trajectory (*.gs-vision).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

Page 82
 It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

Method 3: Using the Process SLAM (Colourise with GS-

Vision) Workflow
The GeoSLAM Connect Viewer supports multiple scripts for processing ZEB Vision data. This
section will describe how to use the Process SLAM (Colourise with GS-Vision) workflow.

This workflow will process the ZEB Horizon point cloud data and ZEB Vision images to provide
a ‘walk-through’ bubble view in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer for viewing the point cloud and
panoramic images.

This workflow will extract colour from the images and apply them to the point cloud.

Processing steps are shown in Figure 77.

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2.. Data selection

3. Define the processing parameters

4. Data processing

5. Data visualisation

Figure 77. ZEB Vision user workflow to create panoramic images and colourise the point
cloud.

Page 83
The Process SLAM (colourise with GS-Vision) workflow is shown in Figure 78.

Figure 78. Process SLAM (Colourise with GS-Vision) interface.

Step 1: Create a New Project

When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 79.

Page 84
 1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create
Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 79. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Process SLAM (colourise with GS-Vision) workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens, and

underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 80.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 80. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the Import dialog.

Page 85
 a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (geoslam) -> Browse System, to locate a
*. geoslam file to import into the project.
i. Select -> scan file (*.geoslam), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import (*.geoslam).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the Drop or browse data area, to import the
scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 81.

3-1. SLAM 3-2. Spatial 3-3. Select 3-4. Define Vision

processing type Decimation Vision Data processing parameters

Figure 81. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:
a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 25m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.

c. Outdoor - An outdoor environment where maximum ranges consistently

exceed 25 metres on at least 1 side of the system. To be used when the system
is far away from features.

d. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system. To be used in an underground
environment.

e. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 4 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

f. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

Page 86
 g. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

h. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be in the same region. Features will vary in distance from the
trajectory.

i. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-2: Spatial Decimation

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 10).

Step 3-3: Select Vision Data

1. Select -> Select your images folder.
a. Open -> Browse system.
i. Select -> Images folder to import.
ii. Drag and drop -> Images folder onto the import icon, to import the
images folder filepath.
or,
b. Pick from Project, to locate images folder.
i. Select -> images folder, to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the folder selection.

Step 3-4: Define Vision processing parameters

1. Select -> Choose whether to save additional reference imagery from one, both or
neither camera.
a. Choose from one of the options below:
i. Forward.
ii. Rearward.
iii. Both.
iv. None.
2. Define -> Define the exposure of the forward lens, positive (lightens), negative
(darkens).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 0).
3. Define -> Define the exposure of the rearward lens, positive (lightens), negative
(darkens).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 0).
4. Define -> Define the exposure of the panoramic imagery, positive (lightens),
negative (darkens).

Page 87
 a. Select -> Slider user defined value between -3 –> 3 (default 1).
5. Input -> Define N to stitch every Nth image.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 1).
6. Input -> Define sampling rate N of the output images to write out every Nth image
for the camera positions.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 1).
7. Input -> Skip the first n images. The first frame is 0.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 0).
8. Input -> Skip the last n images.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 0).
9. Select -> Select your desired mask for images to avoid scanner within colourised
data, select from:
a. Backpack.
b. Custom.
c. Handheld.
d. None.
10. Select -> Colour by timing or distance. Colour by distance will be slower but may
lead to a better result, select from:
a. Distance.
b. Timing.
11. Select -> Process low resolution mode
a. Checked -> Produces a low-resolution output and speeds up processing time.
or
b. Unchecked -> Does not produce a low-resolution output, processing time is
increased.
12. Select - > Remove points that have not been coloured.
c. Checked -> Removes points that have not been assigned an RGB colour value.
or,
d. Unchecked -> Keeps points that have not been assigned an RGB colour value.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 82.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 82. Step 4: Data Processing workflow.

4. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
5. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
6. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.

Page 88
 b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 83.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 83. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

5. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
6. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
7. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
8. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
9. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
10. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

Page 89
Appendix D – Export Workflow
The export button is located on the workflow tab at the top of GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The
user can export any point cloud file in LAZ format that has been created from any workflow
and export to another file format.

Processing steps are shown in Figure 84.

1. Select input cloud *.LAZ

2.. Select format to convert to

3. Select output directory

Figure 84. Export workflow.

Export workflow interface

The export cloud workflow is shown in Figure 85.

Figure 85. Export options interface.

Page 90
Running the workflow
Step 1: Select input cloud
1. Select -> Export icon, to open the Export workflow.

To select data to export, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the workflow dialog.
a. Select -> Pick from project.
b. Select -> *.LAZ file to import.
c. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
2. Select ->Arrow -> Pick system file.
a. Select -> *.LAZ file to import.
b. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 2: Select format to export

To select the export data format:

1. Select -> Export Format, from:

a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

Step 3: Select output directory

1. To choose the export directory, either:
a. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the workflow dialog.
i. Select -> Pick from project.
I. Select -> Project file.
II. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Select ->Arrow -> Pick system file.
i. Select -> System file location.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
2. Select -> Export point cloud to begin the process.

Page 91
Appendix E – Floorslices Workflow
This workflow describes the steps necessary when creating a new project and using the
Floorslices workflow to give scaled PNG floorplan output.

The basic workflow for data processing is to; create a new project, define the processing
options, filtering, and export parameters, then load in the data, and start the workflow. Once
processing is complete; visualise the data to confirm the capture is accurate.

Processing steps are shown in Figure 86.

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2.. Data selection

3. Define the processing options, smoothing, and export

parameters

4. Data processing

5. Data visualisation

Figure 86. Floorslices user workflow.

Floorslices workflow interface

The Floorslices workflow is shown in Figure 87.

Page 92
 Figure 87. Floorslices options interface.

Outputs
The outputs from the floorslices workflow are stored in

\projects\*Project name*\Input\*File name*

The output from the script will be a scaled image file (*.png) of the floor slice(s) and a
processed point cloud file (*.laz), plus any other specified file outputs defined in the workflow.
An example scaled output image is shown in Figure 88.

Data type Format

Input raw scan data *.zip, *.geoslam
Viewable output files LAZ, GS-TRAJ
Export point clouds LAS, PLY, TXT
Output file *.PNG

Table 19. Output files from Floorslices workflow.

Page 93
 Figure 88. Scaled output image from the floorslices workflow.

Running the workflow

Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 89.

Page 94
 1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create
Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 89. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Floorslices workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens, and

underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 90.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 90. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the Import dialog.
a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (geoslam,zip) -> Browse System, to
locate a *. geoslam or *.zip file to import into the project.
i. Select -> scan file (*. Geoslam, *.zip), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.

Page 95
 a. Select -> scan file to import *. Geoslam, *.zip).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the Drop or browse data area, to import the
scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing and Export Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 91.

3-1. SLAM 3-2. Thickness of

3-3. Floor Offset
processing type floor slice

3-4. Apply Filtering 3-5. Output Options

Figure 91. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

Defining a SLAM processing type can aid the processing quality:

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:

a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 40m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.
c. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 6 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

d. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

e. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

f. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system.

g. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be approximately in the same place (~2-3m). Features will vary in
distance from the trajectory.

Page 96
 h. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-2: Floor Thickness

1. Input -> Thickness of the floor slice (m).
a. Input-> user defined value (default 1.5).

The thickness of the floor slice defines the thickness centred on the floor offset.

Step 3-3: Floor Offset

1. Input -> Offset of the slice from the floor (m).
a. Input-> user defined value (default 1).

The floor offset determines the height above the floor where the centre of the
floor slice is created.

If a user wants to create a slice between 1 and 2m above the floor, then they
would input:
• Floor offset = 1.5m.
• Floor thickness 1.0m.

Step 3-4: Filter Options

1. Select -> Filter data, either:
a. Checked -> Filters the data to remove erroneous points, increases overall
processing time.
or,
b. Unchecked -> Does not filter the data, reduces overall processing time.

Step 3-5: Export Format

Select the format of the export point cloud data:

1. Select -> Export Format, from:

a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

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Step 4: Data Processing
Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 92.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 92. Step 4: Data processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 93.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 93. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
c. Floor export(s) (*.PNG)
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

Multiple floors export PNGs will be calculated if the scan contains more than one
floor. These will be displayed as floor0.png, floor1.png etc.

Page 98
Appendix F – Closed Loop
Georeferencing Workflow
Closed loop georeferencing transforms the coordinate system of data captured using the ZEB
Locate System (ZEB Horizon / ZEB Revo and a GNSS receiver). The transformation converts
the initial data from the system, which is coordinated in the Scanners Own Coordinate System
(SOCS) to a Global Coordinate System (GCS) by aligning the trajectory from the ZEB Horizon
and the GNSS receiver.

This workflow was previously achieved using GeoSLAM Hub and the ZEB Locate Processor
tool.

To complete this workflow, users will need the following files and information:

• *.geoslam or *.zip file.

• GNSS data (csv, txt, tps, NMEA).
• EPSG code of export coordinate system.
• Accepted threshold of GNSS accuracy (m).
• Format of GNSS data (Catalyst, GeoSLAM, GGAGST, GGA, Stonex, Topcon).

Processing steps are shown in Figure 94.

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2.. Data selection

3. Define georeferencing parameters

4. Data processing

5. Data visualisation

Figure 94. Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow.

Page 99
Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow interface
The Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow is shown in Figure 95.

Figure 95. Closed Loop Georeferencing interface.

Running the workflow

Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 96.

Page 100
 1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create
Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 96. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Stop and Go Alignment workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens, and

underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 97.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 97. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

Page 101
To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the Import dialog.
a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (geoslam,zip) -> Browse System, to
locate a *. geoslam or *.zip file to import into the project.
i. Select -> scan file (*. Geoslam, *.zip), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import *. Geoslam, *.zip).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the Drop or browse data area, to import the
scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 98.

3-1. SLAM 3-2. Input GNSS 3-3. Define EPSG

processing type data code of export

3-4. Define 3-5. Format of input 3-6. Export file

accuracy threshold GNSS data format

Figure 98. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

Defining a SLAM processing type can aid the processing quality:

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:

a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 40m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.
c. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 6 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

d. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

Page 102
 e. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

f. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system.

g. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be approximately in the same place (~2-3m). Features will vary in
distance from the trajectory.

h. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-2: Input GNSS Data

1. Select -> Your GNSS data. (csv, NMA, txt, tps) -> Browse System, to locate file to
import into the project.
a. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 3-3: Define EPSG code of Export

1. Input -> The EPSG code of your export coordinate system (usually 4 or 5 digits).
a. Input-> user defined value.

Step 3-4: Define Accuracy Threshold

1. Input -> The accepted threshold for gps accuracy (m).
a. Input-> user defined value (default 0.5).

Step 3-5: Define Format of input GNSS Data

1. Select -> The format of the GNSS data, from:
a. Catalyst.
b. GeoSLAM.
c. GGAGST.
d. GGA.
e. Stonex.
f. Topcon.

Page 103
Step 3-6: Export file format
1. Select -> Format to convert to, from:
a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 99.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 99. Step 4: Data processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 100.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 100. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:

Page 104
 a. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

Input file formats

Several GNSS data inputs are supported in the Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow, these
are listed in Table 20.

Input format
Trimble Catalyst system output
NMEA (GPGGA, GNGGA or GLGGA with one of GPGST or GNGST)
NMEA (GPGGA, GNGGA or GLGGA without GPGST or GNGST)
Topcon’s ‘Magnet Field’ software output
Stonex system output

Table 20. Input file formats for Closed Loop Georeferencing workflow.

Requirements
The input file should contain the following information for each data point in the GNSS file:

• Time (s) (from an arbitrary point in time).

• Latitude (Decimal Degrees).
• Longitude (Decimal Degrees).
• Altitude (m).
• (In)accuracy (optional, lower value = higher accuracy; higher value = lower accuracy).

Any GNSS receiver can be used with ZEB Locate, if it is able to output GNSS data according
to the following requirements:

• 1Hz data rate

• .csv ASCII file format (see example below).
• Time, latitude, longitude, elevation, accuracy fields.
• Real time values are not required, but there must be some values present.
• Accuracy is not required for processing - it is only used for a visual accuracy plot - but
there must be some values present.

Hardware time synchronisation between the scanner and GNSS clocks is not
required, as the scan and GNSS data are aligned using the trajectories.

Page 105
An example of the required .csv file structure, in the order time, latitude, longitude, elevation,
accuracy:

1616498389095,52.53963116,-1.377888873,162.270023,0.024434

1616498389104,52.52963114,-1.377888904,162.280076,0.022271

1616498389116,52.53963114,-1.377888913,162.296941,0.024066

Trimble Catalyst Files

Trimble Catalyst data file format is shown in Table 21.

0 1 2 3 4
Time Latitude Longitude Altitude Accuracy
(ms) (Decimal (Decimal (m)
Degrees) Degrees)

Table 21. Example Trimble Catalyst file with gyro data excluded.

NMEA files
NMEA files must contain a format of GGA data (GPGGA, GNGGA or GLGGA) and optionally
a format of GST data (GPGST or GNGST). Time, longitude, latitude, and altitude are extracted
from the GGA data. Where GST data is provided, the accuracy value is set to the standard
deviation (STD) of the altitude error value. Where GST is not available, the accuracy value is
set to the horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) value.

Relevant GGA data columns are provided in Table 22.

0 1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10
Latitude Longitude HDOP Altitude
Header Altitude
Time Latitude Direction Longitude Direction floating floating
$GPGGA Units
hhmmss.ss DDmm.mm N=North, DDDmm.mm E=East point point
etc M=metres
S=South W=West number number

Table 22. Relevant information from the GPGGA file.

Relevant GST columns are provided in Table 23.

0 1 8
Header
Time Altitude STD
$GPGST
hhmmss.ss (m)
etc

Table 23. Relevant information from the GPGST file.

Page 106
Stonex Files
Stonex file contents are configurable and so the number of columns may vary. The file should
contain a header line with the data being identified by the headers. The following columns are
provided in Table 24.

Header Latitude Longitude Ell. height HRMS

Data Latitude Longitude Altitude (In)accuracy

DD.mmssssssss DD.mmssssssss (m)
sssss sssss

Table 24. Stonex file format.

Note that these can be in any order and other columns are ignored. The data must be logged
at 1Hz.

Latitude and Longitude values are in degrees, minutes, and seconds where seconds can
include fractional parts (any number of decimal places included). e.g. 77° 30' 29.9988" would
be recorded as 77.30299988.

Topcon Files
The file contains 17 columns of data including time, position, and precision. The geometric
dilution of precision (GDOP) value is used for accuracy. Latitude and Longitude are in decimal
degrees.

Relevant data columns are provided in Table 25.

0 1 2 3 4 9
Date Time Latitude Longitude Height GDOP
YYYY-MM- HH:mm: ss North East (m) (Accuracy)
DD

Table 25. Topcon file format.

Page 107
Appendix G – Stop and Go Alignment
The Stop and Go Alignment workflow allows the user to easily align scans, without the need
for GNSS or predetermined control points.

During capture, the scanner is left in a static position at the same 4 (or more) points within an
area of interest for approximately 10 seconds per point. Subsequent scans can be captured,
during which the scanner must be positioned exactly over the locations used in the primary
scan.

Processing steps are shown in Figure 101.

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2.. Define data selection and

export parameters

3. Data processing

4. Data visualisation

Figure 101. Stop and Go Alignment user workflow.

Stop and Go Alignment workflow interface

The Stop and Go Alignment workflow is shown in Figure 102.

Page 108
 Figure 102. Stop and Go Alignment interface.

Inputs
This workflow requires two *.geoslam or *.zip files that contain common static points in an
overlapping section of the scan. Static points will automatically be identified in each scan (a
reference and a comparison scan). After identifying the static points, the comparison scan is
registered to the reference scan by rotating and translating the point cloud.

The workflow assumes that the same set of static points have been captured in each scan.
The capture order is irrelevant, and the workflow also ignores false points (static locations that
do not correlate between both scans) that are not present in both scans.

Running the workflow

Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 103.

Page 109
 1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create
Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 103. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Stop and Go Alignment workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens,

and underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 104.

2-1. Open data 2-2. Select 2-3. Select

selection tool reference scan comparison scan

Figure 104. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the workflow dialog.
a. Select -> Reference scan data (*.zip, *. geoslam) ->
i. Browse System, to locate a *.zip or *. geoslam file to import into the
project.
ii. Select -> scan file (*.zip, *. geoslam), to import.

Page 110
 iii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. Select -> GeoSLAM file to align (*.zip, *. geoslam) ->
i. Browse System, to locate a *.zip or *. geoslam file to import into the
project.
ii. Select -> scan file (*.zip, *. geoslam), to import.
iii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 105.

3-1. SLAM 3-2. Spatial 3-1. Export

Processing Type Decimation Format

Figure 105. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

Defining a SLAM processing type can aid the processing quality:

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:

a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 40m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.
c. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 6 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

d. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

e. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

f. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system.

Page 111
 g. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish
position will be approximately in the same place (~2-3m). Features will vary in
distance from the trajectory.

h. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-2: Export Decimation

Select the level of spatial decimation of the output point cloud:

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).

a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 10).

Step 3-3: Export Format

Select the format of the export point cloud data:

1. Select -> Export Format, from:

a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 106.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 106. Step 4: Data processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Page 112
Step 5: Data Visualisation
Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 107.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 107. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

Page 113
Appendix H – Stop and Go
Georeferencing
The Stop and Go Georeferencing workflow allows the user to easily align scans, using
predetermined control points.

During capture, the scanner is left in a static position at the predetermined control points within
an area of interest for approximately 10 seconds per point. The workflow will automatically
georeference the scan to the coordinate system of the control points. Users have the option
to apply a rigid transformation between the scan and control points or a non-rigid
transformation.

In the rigid transformation the point cloud is transformed using a rigid translation and rotation
matrix to best fit the control points. The resulting point cloud is only transformed in space and
not in shape.

Transformation Methods
Rigid Transformation
The rigid transformation method applies a single transform to every point in the point cloud,
so that the XYZ position of every point is altered. However, the relative position to other points
in the point cloud will remain the same. Comparing the shape of the point cloud before and
after the rigid transformation should show identical results.

Whilst, the rigid transformation is a 3D transformation, the function will only implement a
rotation around the Z (yaw) axis. In this way, the function has 4 Degrees of Freedom (4 DoF)
– (x,y,z, yaw).

During processing, the function will extract the static positions from the scan trajectory. The
locations of the static points are matched to the predetermined control points and the resultant
transformation matrix calculated. This transformation matrix is then applied to the point cloud
and trajectory.

The alignment function does not apply any scale factors to the data. Coordinate
systems that are used for control points should be linear grid systems.
If coordinate systems with scale factors are used, there might be some distances
errors on a larger scale measurement when the rigid transformation is applied.

Non-Rigid Transformation
The non-rigid transformation will move every point in the point cloud so that the XYZ position
of every point is altered. Additionally, the relative positions of all the points will not remain the
same. Comparing the shape of the point cloud before and after the non-rigid transformation
should show dissimilar results.

Page 114
During the non-rigid transformation, the Global SLAM function is performed again. Since,
Global SLAM is run again, the non-rigid transformation, whilst being a 3D transformation will
implement 6 DoF. Again, static points are extracted from the scanner trajectory, but in this
case the locations of the static points and predetermined control points are used as constraints
in the reprocessing.

The result of the reprocessing will mean that points around the survey points will be moved so
that they closely match the control point. Comparing the pre and post non-rigid transformation
point clouds will should show the biggest differences around the areas with control points.

Processing steps are shown in Figure 108.

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2.. Define data selection and

export parameters

3. Data processing

4. Data visualisation

Figure 108. Stop and Go Georeferencing user workflow.

Stop and Go Alignment workflow interface

The Stop and Go Alignment workflow is shown in Figure 102.

Page 115
 Figure 109. Stop and Go Alignment interface.

Inputs
Control point file
Control Points should be stored in a Text File with TAB Separation. Control point positions
should be in meters, e.g.,

Figure 110. Example Control Point file

Outputs
In addition to the aligned point cloud and trajectory, an accuracy report providing details on
the transformation is created regardless of the method used.

Exported accuracy report

The accuracy report is stored as tab delimited ascii. An example file is shown in Figure 111.

Page 116
 Figure 111. Example accuracy report.

Where:

• %name = Control Point names.

• traj_time = Static point time extracted from trajectory.
• target_x, target_y ,target_z = coordinates of Control Points in target coordinate
system (derived from a different surveying method)
• Actual_x, actual_y, actual_z – coordinates of static points after performing
transformation.
• Error_norm – Normalised error for each Control Point, calculated using:

𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑚 = √𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑥2 + 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑦2 + 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑧2

• error_x, error_y, error_z = differences between target x,y,z coordinate and actual
x,y,z coordinate.

Running the workflow

Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 112.

Page 117
 1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create
Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 112. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Stop and Go Georeferencing workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens,

and underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 113.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 113. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the Import dialog.
a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (geoslam) -> Browse System, to locate a
*. geoslam file to import into the project.

Page 118
 i. Select -> scan file (*.geoslam), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
b. or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import (*.geoslam).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the Drop or browse data area, to import the
scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 114.

3-1. SLAM 3-2. Load Control 3-3. Type of

processing type Point file Transformation

3-4. Spatial 3-5. Camera 3-5. Camera

Decimation Attached Attached

Figure 114. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:
a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 25m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.

c. Outdoor - An Outdoor environment where maximum ranges consistently

exceed 25 metres on at least 1 side of the system. To be used when the system
is far away from features.

d. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system. To be used in an underground
environment.

e. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 4 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

Page 119
 f. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

g. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

h. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be in the same region. Features will vary in distance from the
trajectory.

i. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-2: Load the Control Points

1. Select -> our control points file. (txt, csv).
a. Browse System, to locate a *.txt or *.csv file to import into the project.
i. Select -> Control points file, to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 3-3: Define the transformation type

1. Select -> Type of transformation, from:
a. Rigid.
b. Non-rigid.

Step 3-4: Spatial Decimation

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 10).

Step 3-5: Camera Attached

1. Check -> Camera attached to the scanner? Disable if false.
a.

Step 3-6: Export Format

Select the format of the export point cloud data:

1. Select -> Export Format, from:

a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 115.

Page 120
 4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing
Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 115. Step 4: Data processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 116.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 116. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed and aligned point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Aligned trajectory (*.gs-traj).
c. Accuracy report (*.gs-accuracy).
d. Control Points (*.gs-control).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

Page 121
Appendix I – Volumes
GeoSLAM Connect includes two workflows for preparing data captured with the ZEB Horizon
for subsequent volumetric analysis in GeoSLAM Volumes software.

Volumetric analysis and visualisation is undertaken in the GeoSLAM Volumes

software package which is an secondary external program.

For any time-series volumetric analysis it is essential that all scans are spatially aligned. In
this way any change in volume can be attributed to a real change in e.g., stockpile volume,
rather than differences created due to a misaligned topography.

There are two workflows in GeoSLAM Connect to accomplish this alignment.

1. Volumes Processing.

This workflow assumes that data is captured using the Stop-and-Go method. The initial
scan loaded into the project is set as the reference scan and any subsequent scans as set
as comparison scans which are aligned using the Stop-and-Go static points.

2. Volumes Locate Processing.

This workflow assumes that data is captured using the ZEB Locate system. The initial scan
loaded into the project is set as the reference scan and any subsequent scans as set as
comparison scans. Since both point clouds have been georeferenced using the GNSS
data, all scans should be co-located.

Both workflows output processed point clouds to a directory defined by the user in the
workflow. This directory is then defined as the “watcher” folder in the GeoSLAM Volumes
interface. Any data saved to the watcher folder will automatically be processed and volumetric
analysis undertaken and displayed in the GeoSLAM Volumes interface.

Processing steps are shown in Figure 117.

Page 122
 Select Volumes
Select Volumes
Locate
Processing
processing

1. New project

2. Define
parameters

3. Data
processing

4. Data
visualisation

Figure 117. Volumes user workflow.

Volumes Processing
The Volumes Processing workflow is designed to prepare data ready for further analysis in
GeoSLAM Volumes software. This workflow will process raw data, apply the SLAM algorithm,
and use the stop-and-go method to align two datasets.

Volumes workflow interface

The volumes workflow is shown in Figure 118.

Page 123
 Figure 118. Volumes Processing interface.

Running the workflow

Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 119.

1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create

Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 119. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

Page 124
 1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.
2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Volumes Processing workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens,

and underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 120.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 120. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the workflow dialog.
a. Select -> Select your scan data (*.zip, *. geoslam) -> Browse System, to
locate a *.zip or *. geoslam file to import into the project.
i. Select -> scan file (*.zip, *. geoslam), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import (*.zip or *. geoslam).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the import icon, to import the scan file.

Step 3: Define Processing Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 121.

Page 125
 3-1. Spatial 3-2. SLAM 3-3. Range Filter
Decimation Processing Type Lower Limit

3-4. Range Filter 3-5. Output

Upper Limit Directory

Figure 121. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: Spatial Decimation

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 10).

Step 3-2: SLAM Processing Type

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:
a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 25m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.

c. Outdoor - An Outdoor environment where maximum ranges consistently

exceed 25 metres on at least 1 side of the system. To be used when the system
is far away from features.

d. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system. To be used in an underground
environment.

e. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 4 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

f. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

g. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

h. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be in the same region. Features will vary in distance from the
trajectory.

Page 126
 i. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-3: Range filter lower limit

1. Select -> Range Filter Lower Limit.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 2).

Step 3-4: Range filter upper limit

1. Select -> Range Filter Upper Limit.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 30).

Step 3-5: Define output directory

To define the output directory to store the output point cloud:

1. Select -> Browse system to select a location on the local machine.

a. Browse -> Browse system, to locate the output folder.
b. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 122.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 122. Step 4: Data processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Page 127
Step 5: Data Visualisation
Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 123.

5-1. Open 5-2. Open 5-3. Select 5-4. Toggle

Results tab results folder data to view data visibility

Figure 123. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed and aligned point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Aligned trajectory (*.gs-traj).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

Volumes Locate Processing

The Volumes Locate Processing workflow is designed to prepare data ready for further
analysis in GeoSLAM Volumes software. This workflow will process raw data, apply the SLAM
algorithm, and use GNSS data captured using the ZEB Locate system to georeference the
reference scan and subsequent comparison scans to a chosen coordinate system.

Volumes workflow interface

The volumes workflow is shown in Figure 124.

Page 128
 Figure 124. Volumes Locate Processing interface.

Running the workflow

Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 125.

Page 129
 1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create
Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 125. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.

2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Volumes Locate Processing workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens,

and underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 126.

2-1. Open Data 2-2. Select Scan

Selection Tool File

Figure 126. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the workflow dialog.
a. Select -> Select your scan data (*.zip, *. geoslam) -> Browse System, to
locate a *.zip or *. geoslam file to import into the project.

Page 130
 i. Select -> scan file (*.zip, *. geoslam), to import.
ii. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
2. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
a. Select -> scan file to import (*.zip or *. geoslam).
b. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the import icon, to import the scan file.

Step 3: Define Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 127.

3-1. SLAM 3-2. Spatial 3-3. Range Filter 3-4. Range Filter
Processing Type Decimation Lower Limit Upper Limit

3-5. Format of input 3-6. Input GNSS 3-7. EPSG code of 3-8. Accuracy
GNSS Data Data Export Threshold

3-9. Output
Directory

Figure 127. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

1. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:
a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 25m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.

c. Outdoor - An Outdoor environment where maximum ranges consistently

exceed 25 metres on at least 1 side of the system. To be used when the system
is far away from features.

d. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system. To be used in an underground
environment.

Page 131
 e. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 4 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

f. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

g. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

h. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be in the same region. Features will vary in distance from the
trajectory.

i. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

Step 3-2: Spatial Decimation

1. Define -> Spatial decimation of point cloud (mm).
a. Select -> Slider user defined value between 0 –> 100 (default 50).

Step 3-3: Range filter lower limit

1. Select -> Range Filter Lower Limit.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 2).

Step 3-4: Range filter upper limit

1. Select -> Range Filter Upper Limit.
a. Input -> Number - user defined value (default 30).

Step 3-5: Define Format of input GNSS Data

1. Select -> The format of the GNSS data, from:
a. Catalyst
b. GeoSLAM
c. GGAGST
d. GGA
e. Stonex
f. Topcon.

Step 3-6: Input GNSS Data

1. Select -> Your GNSS data. (csv, NMA, txt, tps) -> Browse System, to locate file to
import into the project.
a. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 3-7: Define EPSG code of Export

1. Input -> The EPSG code of your export coordinate system (usually 4 or 5 digits).
a. Input-> user defined value.

Step 3-8: Define Accuracy Threshold

1. Input -> The accepted threshold for gps accuracy (m).
a. Input-> user defined value (default 0.5).

Page 132
Step 3-9: Define output directory
To define the output directory to store the output point cloud:

1. Select -> Browse system to select a location on the local machine.

a. Browse -> Browse system, to locate the output folder.
b. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 128.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 128. Step 4: Data Processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. Hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 129.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 129. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:
a. Processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Scan trajectory (*.gs-traj).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.

Page 133
It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

Page 134
Appendix J – Change Detection
The Change Detection workflow allows user to compare two point clouds of the same area
that have been acquired at different times to identify areas of change. Data is acquired using
the standard Stop-and-Go alignment procedure to ensure that all data is aligned before the
change detection analysis takes place. The workflow outputs a point cloud with areas of either
positive or negative feature change displayed in differing colours.

The Change Detection workflow only identifies portions of the scan area that
have changed.

The workflow will not calculate the amount of change

1. Create a ‘New Project’

2.. Data selection and export file

format

3. Data processing

4. Data visualisation

Figure 130. Change Detection user workflow.

Change Detection workflow interface

The change detection workflow is shown in Figure 131.

Page 135
 Figure 131. Change detection interface.

Outputs
The workflow outputs a several point cloud files which are described in Table 26.

Exported file Description

*Result 1 *.laz Processed result of reference scan.
*Result 2*.laz Processed result of comparison scan.
*Result 2*_registered Comparison scan registered to reference scan
Comparison_scan Result point cloud showing areas of change in RGB channel.

Table 26. Output files from Change Detection workflow.

Change detection analysis is saved into the comparison scan. Point classification is defined
by:

• Green = New feature added since last scan.

• Blue = Old feature removed since last scan.
• Black = Not enough point density in original scan for classification.
• Grey = No noticeable change.

An example of the output can be seen in Figure 132.

Page 136
 Figure 132. Comparison scan results showing voxel change displayed in RGB.

Running the workflow

Step 1: Create a New Project
When GeoSLAM Connect Viewer is opened for the first time, the user must sign in to their
MyGeoSLAM account. To create a new project the user must follow the workflow provided in
Figure 133.

1-1. Open Connect 1-2. Create

Viewer New Project

1-2A. Set
Project Name

1-2B. Set
Project
Workflow

1-2C. Create
Project

Figure 133. Step 1: Workflow to create a new project.

Page 137
 1. Open -> GeoSLAM Connect Viewer software.
2. Select -> Add New Project icon.
a. Input -> Project Name -> user defined name.
b. Select -> Workflow -> Change Detection workflow.
c. Select -> Create Project icon, to create the new project.

A minimum of 4 characters is allowed to name a project - (numbers, hyphens,

and underscores).

Step 2: Data Selection

When a new project has been created, the user selects the data to import into the project by
either using the drag and drop functionality or by selecting the Drop or Browse Data icon. The
workflow for selecting data is shown in Figure 134.

2-1. Open data 2-2. Select 2-3. Select

selection tool reference scan comparison scan

Figure 134. Step 2: Selecting data to import into a project.

To select data to import into the project, either:

1. Select -> Drop or browse data icon to open the workflow dialog.
a. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (Reference) (geoslam, zip) -> Browse
System, to locate a *.zip or *. geoslam file to import into the project.
i. Select -> scan file (*.zip, *. geoslam), to import.
i. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.
or,
b. Open ->Windows File Explorer.
i. Select -> scan file to import (*.zip or *. geoslam).
ii. Drag and drop -> scan file onto the import icon, to import the scan file.
2. Select -> Your GeoSLAM Dataset (Comparison) (geoslam, zip)-> Browse System,
to locate a *.zip or *. geoslam file to import into the project.
a. Select -> scan file (*.zip, *. geoslam), to import.
a. Select -> Select, to confirm the file selection.

Step 3: Define Parameters

Several processing options must be defined before importing the data. The steps to select
these options are show in Figure 135.

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 3-1. SLAM
3-2. Export format
Processing Type

Figure 135. Step 3: Processing parameters workflow.

Step 3-1: SLAM Processing Type

2. Select -> SLAM Processing Type:
a. Standard – The default setting for a feature rich environment. Feature rich
environments are those where unique objects/ surfaces surround the system
on 5 sides (front, back, left, right, down). These objects/surfaces should be at
maximum 25m from the system.

b. Confined – An environment where the system will be exposed to surfaces at

a maximum 1.5m from the scanners trajectory. To be used in a tight indoor
environment or if temporarily moving through a tight space.

c. Outdoor - An Outdoor environment where maximum ranges consistently

exceed 25 metres on at least 1 side of the system. To be used when the system
is far away from features.

d. Tunnel - A feature poor environment where the system is surrounded by

irregular surfaces on 4 sides (left, right, top and bottom). These surfaces should
be at maximum 25 metres from the system. To be used in an underground
environment.

e. Forest – Dense forest environment where irregular features occur on all 4 sides
of the scanner. Start/finish position is the same.

f. Indoor – Indoor environments where features are usually planar on all sides of
the sensor and maximum range rarely exceeds >30m.

g. Open Loop – Various environment where the start/finish positions are not the
same. To be used in linear scans where capture does not exceed 20-25
minutes.

h. Vehicle – Environment where the vehicle is moving at <30 mph. Start/finish

position will be in the same region. Features will vary in distance from the
trajectory.

i. UAV – Airborne missions where features are no more than 40m from the
sensor. Bounding box has been modified to remove UAV system from the
processing data.

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Step 3-2: Export Format
Select the format of the export point cloud data:

1. Select -> Export Format, from:

a. *.LAZ.
b. *.LAS.
c. *.PLY.
d. *.TXT.

Step 4: Data Processing

Once the workflow parameters have been defined, the user can begin processing the capture.
The workflow for processing the data is shown in Figure 136.

4-1. Confirm 4-2. Begin 4-3. Processing 4-4. Processing

Dataset Name Processing Status Complete

Figure 136. Step 4: Data Processing workflow.

1. Input -> New Dataset Name, if required (this will be the output folder name for the data
imported).
2. Select -> Import, to begin processing.
3. View -> Processing Status, can be viewed by either:
a. hovering the mouse over the file import wheel.
b. Select -> Processing History icon, to confirm the processing has been
completed.

Step 5: Data Visualisation

Once, data processing has complete, it is strongly advised that the user visualise the
processed data in the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer. The workflow data visualisation is shown
in Figure 137.

5-1. Open Results 5-2. Open Results 5-3. Select Data To 5-4. Toggle Data
Tab Folder View Visibility

Figure 137. Step 5: Data visualisation workflow.

1. Select -> Data tab, in the project tree of the GeoSLAM Connect Viewer.
2. Select -> Output folder, to view the processed outputs.
3. Double Click -> a data type to load the processed outputs. Data types are:

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 a. Scan-1 processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
b. Scan 1 trajectory (*.gs-traj).
c. Scan-2 processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
d. Scan 2 trajectory (*.gs-traj).
e. Scan-2 aligned processed point cloud (*.LAZ).
f. Comparison point cloud (*.LAZ).
4. Select -> Eye icon, to view and hide the data in the viewer.
5. Select -> RGB Colour Mode to display the change colour values.

It is highly advisable, to carefully examine the processed data to ensure that the
output correctly represents the scanned environment. If the data has not been
processed correctly, reprocess the data using different SLAM parameters
suitable for the environment scanned. This can be achieved by repeating Steps 2
– 5.

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