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Terrestrial LiDAR Pipeline

Use this pipeline when you work with static or handheld LiDAR scanners (Leica, FARO, Trimble, BLK2GO, etc.) and need to turn point clouds into WebAR³ VPS maps.

Pre-processing​

  1. Clean the raw scans — remove tripod artefacts, multiple returns, and moving objects in Cyclone, ReCap, CloudCompare, or similar tools.
  2. Register the stations — align separate scans using targets or cloud-to-cloud methods.
  3. Colourise — apply photographic textures if available; otherwise map LiDAR intensity to greyscale.

Export​

  • Produce a simplified mesh (≤ 5 million triangles) for visual preview.
  • Export the point cloud as E57/LAZ/PLY.
  • Keep the coordinate system consistent: use a local tangent plane indoors, or a geo-referenced CRS outdoors.

Upload with the Python REST API​

# upload_lidar.py
from pathlib import Path
import os
import requests

API_BASE = "https://was-vps.web-ar.xyz/vps/api/v3"
TOKEN = os.environ["WEBAR3_TOKEN"]
DATA_PATH = Path("outputs/plant.e57")

headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}"}

payload = {
    "name": "Factory Floor",
    "dataType": "point_cloud",
    "sourceFormat": "e57",
    "hybrid": True,
    "coordinate": {"lat": 35.68124, "lon": 139.76712}
}

init = requests.post(f"{API_BASE}/maps/import", json=payload, headers=headers)
init.raise_for_status()
info = init.json()
upload_url, map_id = info["uploadUrl"], info["mapId"]

with DATA_PATH.open("rb") as src:
    put = requests.put(upload_url, data=src, headers={"Content-Type": "application/octet-stream"})
    put.raise_for_status()

finalize = requests.post(f"{API_BASE}/maps/{map_id}/finalize", json={"publish": False}, headers=headers)
finalize.raise_for_status()
print(f"LiDAR map {map_id} queued → {finalize.json()['status']}")
  • hybrid=True signals that the upload contains both a point cloud and an optional mesh (if present in the E57/LAZ bundle).
  • For indoor-only datasets omit the coordinate block.

Post-processing & Anchors​

After the map reaches READY:

  1. Define anchor points for machinery, entries, and exits.
  2. Upload them via a small JSON file:
import json

anchors = [
    {"name": "CNC-01", "position": [2.4, 0.0, 8.7]},
    {"name": "safety_exit", "position": [-11.2, 0.0, 3.1]}
]
resp = requests.post(
    f"{API_BASE}/maps/{map_id}/anchors",
    headers=headers,
    json={"items": anchors}
)
resp.raise_for_status()
  1. Publish the map from the Console or call POST /maps/{id}/publish when QA is done.