The OpenTopography Tool Registry provides a community populated clearinghouse of software, utilities, and tools oriented towards high-resolution topography data (e.g. collected with lidar technology) handling, processing, and analysis. Tools registered below range from source code to full-featured software applications. We welcome contributions to the registry via the Contribute a Tool page.

	Tool Name	Date	Tool Type	Rating
1	GRASS GIS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System)	24 Nov 2010	Software Suite
Keywords: grass, gis, osgeo License: GNU General Public License Description: GRASS is free Geographic Information System (GIS) software used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics/maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization. GRASS is currently used in academic and commercial settings around the world, as well as by many governmental agencies and environmental consulting companies. GRASS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. GRASS has a number of functions related to lidar and high-resolution DEM processing and analysis. lidar specific elements of GRASS are discussed here: http://grass.osgeo.org/wiki/LIDAR
2	GDAL - Geospatial Data Abstraction Library	3 Dec 2010	Data Management / Handling
Keywords: DEM, osgeo, coordinates, file formats License: MIT license / X11 license Description: GDAL is a translator library for raster geospatial data formats that is released under an X/MIT style Open Source license by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. As a library, it presents a single abstract data model to the calling application for all supported formats. It also comes with a variety of useful commandline utilities for data translation and processing. GDAL is a powerful tool for converting digital elevation model (DEM) formats, performing coordinate system conversions, and the gdaldem utility provides basic processing functionality such as generation of hillshades and slope maps.
3	SAGA GIS	3 Apr 2011	Software Suite
Keywords: GIS, Terrain Analysis, Visualization, Raster, Vector, Pointcloud, LAS License: GNU General Public License Description: SAGA GIS is a FOSS which is, besides common GIS tasks, specialized on digital terrain analysis. The software provides a lot of analysis tools which you will not find in any other software package, e.g. for morphometric or hydrologic analysis. SAGA supports various raster and vector (including LAS and SAGA point clouds) formats, DEM generation, analysis and visualization (e.g. 3D point cloud viewer, bare earth extraction). One of SAGA's main objectives is to provide scientists an easy to use API to implement own algorithms (C++) but it is also used in commercial environments. SAGA provides a GUI and can be scripted in various ways (e.g. batch/bash, python). SAGA runs on Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, both 32 and 64bit. The software is licensed under the GPL (GUI, most of the modules) and the LGPL (API).
4	LIDAR Analyst	20 Mar 2014	Software Suite
Keywords: LIDAR, Automated Feature Extraction License: Commercial License Description: LIDAR Analyst® software is the premier feature extraction solution for airborne LIDAR data, allowing geospatial analysts to unlock the value of LIDAR by automatically extracting 3D objects such as bare earth, trees or buildings. Now the software has been upgraded with a major enhancement: an integrated 3D Viewer that delivers mission-critical high-resolution 3D exploitation and further establishes LIDAR Analyst as the Gold Standard. Enjoy the performance of viewing and manipulating LIDAR data containing over a billion points. LIDAR Analyst has eight years of proven heritage as one of the first commercially released LIDAR applications. The power, speed, accuracy and broad selection of tools enable users to get real work accomplished. Thats why LIDAR Analyst is so widely respected and used daily by military forces, federal agencies, local governments, academic universities and GIS services providers around the globe. Since LIDAR Analyst is an extension for Esri ArcGIS®, the products familiar environment makes it easy to install and learn. Use the 3D Viewer to manipulate, filter and edit LIDAR point clouds displayed in stunning color. Rapidly inventory all the buildings across a city or area of interest by using LIDAR Analysts advanced algorithms to detect, recognize, and extract complex 3D building shapes. Count the trees in a forest or scattered throughout a neighborhood. Strip away the buildings and shrubbery to reveal the true ground level for detailed terrain.
5	RiverTools	22 Feb 2014	Software Suite
Keywords: DEMs, terrain, river network extraction, contributing area, curvature License: Commercial License Description: RiverTools is a user-friendly GIS application that contains a wide variety of tools specifically designed for terrain and watershed analysis and visualization. Version 4.0 supports the latest versions of Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
6	Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools	27 May 2014	Software Suite
Keywords: GIS, LAS file reader, interpolation, geospatial analysis License: GNU General Public License Description: Whitebox GAT is a full-blown GIS with extensive analysis capabilities for handling LiDAR data, including specialized interpolation algorithms for LAS data, removal of off-terrain objects, and plenty of tools for processing DEMs, e.g. hydrological tools, geomorphometry, etc. Here is a description for handling LiDAR: http://whiteboxgeospatial.wordpress.com/2014/03/16/working-with-lidar-data-in-whitebox-gat/
7	Geomorphic Change Detection Software	4 Sep 2014	DEM Analysis
Keywords: DEM error modelling, change detection, DEM uncertainty, geomorphic interpretation License: Other Description: The GCD software was developed primarily for morphological sediment budgeting in rivers. The volumetric change in storage is calculated from the difference in surface elevations from digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from repeat topographic surveys. As each DEM has an uncertain surface representation (which might vary in space and time), our ability to detect changes between surveys is highly dependent on surface representation uncertainties inherent in the individual DEMs. The fundamental problem is separating out the changes between the surveys that are due to geomorphic change as opposed to noise in the survey data. GCD provides a suite of tools for quantifying those uncertainties independently in each DEM and propagating them through to the DEM of difference. The program also provides ways for segregating the best estimates of change spatially using different types of masks. The overall suite of tools is more generically applicable to many different spatial raster-based change detection problems.
8	PointCloudViz Free Edition	25 Nov 2014	Visualization, DEM generation
Keywords: 3D, LiDAR, DEM, orthoimage, WMS, LiDAR server License: Free to use/Unspecified Description: PointCloudViz is a free 3D LiDAR display and processing tool supporting input LAS, LAZ and ASCII formats. It provides very interactive visualization and attribute symbology without data size limits, as well as single or multiple orthoimage draping and grid DEM export. LiDAR data can be imported from multiple files, and also multiple processed datasets can be displayed simultaneously. PointCloudViz FE is available for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. Version 2.0 includes linear measurement and information tools, Web Map Service image draping and connection to Mirage's Web LiDAR server.
9	Geographic Calculator	5 Mar 2015	DEM Analysis, Data Management / Handling
Keywords: vertical datum transformation, horizontal datum, image resampling, geoid support, HTDP License: Commercial License Description: The Geographic Calculator is THE Global Coordinate Transformation tool for any coordinate or geomatic challenge. A powerful windows solution with particular strength in survey, seismic and energy exploration, it is available in 32 or 64 bit versions. This highly accurate transformation software includes tools such as Canadian DLS (Dominion Land Survey) Land Grid tools, Seismic Survey Conversion tools, Area of Use tools for guiding users, and much more. The Geographic Calculator supports a wide range of file formats with support from the largest geodetic parameter database available anywhere. Display and reproject your DEMs into the right coordinate systems.
10	Civil Maps	19 Mar 2015	Visualization, Point Cloud Analysis, Data Management / Handling
Keywords: deep learning, artificial intelligence, point cloud streaming protocol License: Other Description: Civil Maps allows users to upload their survey data, then specify the assets of interest and mapping specification. Upon upload, Civil Maps indexes all of the spatial information as defined in the mapping specification into a query-able format. The maps can then be dynamically generated on demand and exported to various tools such as AutoDesk Map3D from Civil Maps, which is useful for integrating into the customers workflow. The biggest pain point in the industry is the time to annotate 3D scans. Currently, processing huge 3D survey datasets is limited by the point­ and ­click annotation speed of the user and the limited resources of the users computer (I/O, CPU, Network, Memory). By circumventing these bottlenecks, Civil Maps is introducing a paradigm shift in the workflow of annotating 3D survey data. Advancements in parallel computing and deep learning allows Civil Maps to reduce 2 years of manual annotation work down to 2 days of processing using our cloud infrastructure
11	lidar2dems	29 Jul 2015	DEM generation
Keywords: DEM, DSM, DTM, CHM, PDAL, points2grid, gridding License: BSD license Description: The lidar2dems project is a collection open-source (FreeBSD license) command line utilities for supporting the easy creation of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from LiDAR data. lidar2dems uses the PDAL library (and associated dependencies) for doing the actual point processing and gridding of point clouds into raster data.
12	Points2Grid	23 Jun 2011	DEM generation
Keywords: gridding, P2G, point cloud, binning, local gridding, DEM License: BSD license Description: Points2Grid is a robust and scalable tool for gridding LIDAR point cloud data to generate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). Points2Grid uses a local gridding method to compute grid cell elevation using a neighborhood defined around each cell based on a search radius provided by the user (see image below). Points2Grid offers two processing modes - in-core and out-of-core - to allow it to handle generation of rasters larger than available memory.
13	scarplet	3 Dec 2018	DEM Analysis
Keywords: Python, fault scarp, edge detection, image processing, diffusion dating License: MIT license / X11 license Description: scarplet is a Python package for detecting and relatively dating landforms like fault scarps in DEMs. It implements curvature based landform templates that can be used to estimate the maturity of a feature by diffusion dating or detect distinctive topographic features.
14	CHaMP Topo Processing Toolbar	4 Sep 2014	DEM generation
Keywords: total station surveys, topographic License: GNU General Public License Description: The CHaMP Topo Processing Toolbar exists to take raw data from CHaMP ground-based topographic surveys and run these through steps of 1) survey data evaluation, 2) generating topographic surfaces, 3) DEM derived products and metrics (including, detrending, derivation of cross sections, profiles, thalwegs, bankfull, etc.), 4) QA/QC. Although the overall workflow of the tool is focused on CHaMP topographic data, many of the individual commands and steps will be more generically useful to some.
15	River Bathymetry Toolkit (RBT)	18 Mar 2011	Software Suite
Keywords: LiDAR, bathymetry, river, raster, detrending, water, RBT License: Free to use/Unspecified Description: The (RBT) is available for free and is under active development. Tools exist for cutting cross sections and longitudinal profiles into high resolution DEMs to extract hydrologic parameters such as wetted area, bankfull width, hydraulic radius, gradient and sinuosity. It is possible to save the cross section properties as a ShapeFile and then add them to a map. Using an automated detrending algorithm we are able to remove the overall valley slope. Tools are being created that use the detrended raster to investigate flooding outside a main channel at any prescribed discharge or flow stage.
16	Points2Grid Utility (winP2G)	20 Nov 2010	DEM generation
Keywords: point cloud, lidar, DEM, gridding, binning License: Free to use/Unspecified Description: The Points2Grid Utility is a simple tool for the generation of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from lidar point cloud data. The Points2Grid Utility is a Windows application that utilizes the same local binning algorithm deployed in the OpenTopography lidar system to offer rapid generation of DEMs from large volumes of LiDAR point return data. Note that winP2G is no longer supported - information about newer implementations of the algorithm can be found here: https://opentopography.org/otsoftware/points2grid
17	uniDEM	29 May 2019	Visualization, Point Cloud Analysis, DEM generation, DEM Analysis, Data Management / Handling
Keywords: DEM editing, automated workflows, Point Cloud Classification and DEM generation, DTM creation, QC License: Commercial License Description: uniDEM specializes in post-processing DEMs of all resolutions. This release includes the capability to automate workflows based on graphical programming (scripting), the automated “Bare Ground Classification” tool and the “LiDAR Point Cloud Classification” tool. uniDEM is an efficient but comprehensive solution for standardized large-area DEM creation as well as for generating customer tailored DEMs over small areas. Creates DEMs from LIDAR (las, laz, e57) and completes a DSM or DTM in minutes.
18	DEM.Net Elevation API	21 Apr 2019	Visualization, DEM Analysis, Data Management / Handling
Keywords: 3D, heightmaps, elevation, gpx License: MIT license / X11 license Description: Free .Net Open Source library for DEM access and analysis (elevation queries, height maps, 3D exports textured)
19	NERC-ARF DEM Scripts	7 Jul 2016	DEM generation
Keywords: DTM, DSM, LAS, GRASS License: GNU General Public License Description: A collection of scripts developed by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Airborne Research Facility Data Analysis Node (NERC-ARF-DAN; formerly ARSF) for generating DEMs from point clouds. Through command line tools or Python functions the ARSF DEM Scripts provide a common interface to generate DSMs or DTMs from LAS files using GRASS, SPDLib, points2grid, FUSION or LAStools. When using SPDLib, FUSION or LAStools will classify ground returns to produce a DTM (note license required to produce a DTM using LAStools). Additional utilities are available for manipulating DEMs (e.g., patching with a courser resolution DEM to fill in gaps) using GRASS.
20	TopoToolbox	21 Jul 2015	Visualization, DEM Analysis
Keywords: MATLAB, tectonic geomorphology, DEM analysis License: BSD license Description: TopoToolbox is a suite of MATLAB functions for topographic analysis. The major aim of TopoToolbox is to offer helpful analytical GIS utilities in a non-GIS environment in order to support the simultaneous application of GIS-specific and other quantitative methods. Key methods include advanced methods of flow direction derivation, stream network extraction and manipulation, slope-area analysis, chiplots, and swath profiles.
21	Eduard	6 Feb 2023	Visualization
Keywords: License: Commercial License Description: Eduard creates beautiful and accurate Swiss-style shaded relief images for maps. Machine learning in Eduard produces high-quality shaded relief within seconds from digital elevation models. Eduard includes a convenient tool for downloading and exporting ALOS, NASA DEM and SRTM elevation models form OpenTopography.org. Eduard is available for macOS on the Mac App Store.