Scripting in Leica Cyclone 3DR

Recently, 3DReshaper became Leica Cyclone 3DR. Cyclone 3DR is a seamless extension of the Leica Cyclone product family working hand-in-hand to take users from field data collection with Leica Cyclone FIELD 360 mobile-device app, through to registration in Leica Cyclone REGISTER 360 and then final deliverable creation in Leica Cyclone 3DR.

Based upon the simple design of the next-generation Cyclone family, Cyclone 3DR allows both new and experienced users to move from import through analysis and publishing intuitively and simply. By automating common tasks, customers can reduce unexpected project delays and quickly deliver actionable information to clients.

Cyclone 3DR fuses Leica JetStream technology to provide a centralised, full-scale point cloud management system. It delivers automated point cloud analysis and modelling into one simple, workflow-based software with tailored tools for the surveying, construction and inspection fields. Where most software on the market today focuses on a single workflow to create a specialised deliverable, Cyclone 3DR encompasses a range of adaptable tools for inspection and meshing that can be leveraged to create an assortment of 3D deliverables and reports.

One key technology transferred from 3DReshaper to Cyclone 3DR is Scripting. This enables any user to customise simple solutions to complex problems through, for instance, automation of high frequency tasks, creation of customised workflows and to create new data processing algorithms in order to answer some specific needs which are not covered by the main software itself. One scripting example that demonstrates the power of this functionality is in the automated meshing of an inventory of trees to get the volume of the tree leaves. Quite often the complexity of the various 3D shapes of the trees demands that different algorithms are used. By designing a custom script which calculates the number os trees, tree height, crown area and crown volume, a user can automate the creation of an inventory of all trees within a defined area. This domain-specific workflow is not available in the off-the-shelf version of Cyclone 3DR but can be easily customised from the flexible toolset in Cyclone 3DR to meet the needs of different stakeholders, incorporating expected regional variations along the way.

This image illustrates the tree meshing. The input point cloud is on the left and the code is on the right.
In the middle, we can see the section cuts in green that could be done in the user interface one after the other. And the mesh in gold which is joining all these individual sections (could also be done in the software in a very repetitive way).

All of the functions of Cyclone 3DR can be used in a programme written in JavaScript. JavaScript was initially created as a browser-only language but it is now used in many other environments, like in Cyclone 3DR, which embeds a special programme called the JavaScript Engine. JavaScript is a very accessible programming language even for novice users and does not require a high skilled developer, as there are lots of good websites to self-learn - one recommendation is: https://www.w3schools.com/js/. Otherwise, users can quickly edit some free samples provided in the Cyclone 3DR Help Centre (installed by default) to start creating automated tasks.

Cyclone 3DR does provide some pre-installed scripts like the curb or the electric lines extraction. There are several shareable and editable scripts that you can download or add to your favourites, which may help you to extract railway lines, import a *.3dr project in the same open session of Cyclone 3DR, replay a saved matrix of alignment, apply conditional colours to an inspected cloud or mesh trees to estimate the volume of the leaves. You can add your favourite scripts from your own programming or from our sharing platform: https://github.com/Cyclone3DR/Scripts.

Some scripts require entering parameters or selecting a point; but the script plugin can be used to execute JavaScript codes directly from a command line outside of the software's graphical user interface.

Scripting offers even more flexibility to the already existing versatility of Cyclone 3DR, to respond to specific needs and create custom workflows. However, with the growing usage of different 3D laser scanning technology supplied by the industry in general, and Leica Geosystems in particular, the possibility to automate data processing workflow will be the key to address a wide array of applications like quality assurance and control.

The future of automation is in front of us and we will continue to improve the user-friendliness of our software and to further automate tasks. Our customers will always have needs and demands based on their workflows and our aim is to support their growing business needs.

Are you ready to get the most of your point cloud and extract the right information automatically? Click here to contact us.

Nicolas Landrivon
Technical Sales & Support
Technodigit - part of Hexagon