PROCESSING AND VIEWING
LADAR DATA

Once a scene is scanned in the field by the LADAR instrument, there are several steps required to get the data into ARCGIS.  The software that accompanies the instrument (3D-RiSCAN) can be seen in the image below.  The file generated from a LADAR scan is a "*.3DD" file, and these can be opened in the RiSCAN software.  Once a *.3DD file is opened (a scan from La Pilita is shown below), several interesting observations can be made in the data readout panel.  Here, you can observe the pixel dimensions of the scanned image, and get some idea of the geometry of the scene.  If you are to move the mouse cursor around the range image on the right, you can see data that corresponds to the particular pixel you are located on.  For instance, in the image below, the cursor must be placed on a pixel representative of a surface that is oriented some x,y,z value from the scanner origin (0,0,0).  The linear distance to that point can also be identified.  The azimuth angle (pan axis) and the polar angle (tilt axis) are measured in gon units (1 gon = 0.899 degree).  Other information regarding the details of the scan can also be seen.

The *.3DD files can then be exported from the 3D-RiSCAN software in a number of formats.  Since ARCGIS is set up to easily import *.DXF files, that particular format was chosen for this application.  Once the file was imported to the Sistema Zacaton geodatabase, it could then be viewed in both ArcMap and ArcScene (using 3D Analyst).  Some imported scans from the sinkhole Zacaton can be seen below, listed in ArcCatalog.
 

Download Video of Zacatón LADAR Scan (.AVI file 20Mb)