ASPRS LiDAR Data Exchange Format (LAS) Quick Facts
Format Type Identifier |
LAS |
Reader/Writer |
Both |
Dependencies |
Yes. |
Dataset Type |
Reader: File Writer: Folder |
Feature Type |
LAS or <source_las_filename> |
Typical File Extensions |
|
Automated Translation Support |
Yes |
User-Defined Attributes |
No |
Coordinate System Support |
Yes |
Generic Color Support |
No |
Spatial Index |
Never |
Schema Required |
Not Applicable |
Transaction Support |
No |
Geometry Type Attribute |
las_type |
Encoding Support | No |
LAS Geometry Support
Geometry |
Supported? |
aggregate | no |
circles |
no |
circular arc |
no |
donut polygon |
no |
elliptical arc |
no |
ellipses |
no |
line |
no |
none |
no |
point |
no |
point cloud |
yes |
polygon |
no |
raster |
no |
solid |
no |
surface |
no |
text |
no |
z values |
yes |
LAS Point Cloud Components
Point Cloud Component | Data Type | Notes |
---|---|---|
x | Int32 | |
y | Int32 | |
z | Int32 | |
intensity | UInt16 | |
returns | UInt8 | |
number_of_returns | UInt8 | |
scan_direction | UInt8 | |
flight_line_edge | UInt8 | |
classification | UInt8 | |
angle | Int8 | |
file_marker | UInt8 | Allows for LAS flight-line based files to be combined into single files with more than one flight-line. Only supported in version 1.0. |
user_data | UInt8 (version 1.0) or UInt16 (version 1.1+) | |
point_source_id | UInt16 | Only supported in version 1.1+ |
gps_time | Real64 | Only supported in version 1.1+ |
color_red | UInt8 | Only supported in version 1.1+ |
color_green | UInt8 | Only supported in version 1.1+ |
color_blue | UInt8 | Only supported in version 1.1+ |
classification_flags | UInt8 |
Indicates special characteristics associated with each point. This is a bit flag with the following values:
Only supported in version 1.4. |
scanner_channel | UInt8 | Indicates the channel (scanner head) of a multi-channel system. Only supported in version 1.4. |
nir | UInt16 | The NIR (near infrared) value. Only supported in version 1.4. |